Shin Dong-bin of Lotte Group Emphasizes AI Agent Development as a Survival Task

Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of Lotte Group, emphasized the need for all employees to develop capabilities in artificial intelligence (AI) agent development to drive innovative changes in work processes.

According to Lotte Group, Shin made these remarks during his participation in the Lotte 'CEO AI Academy' held on June 5 and 6, stating that AI transformation (AX) has become a top priority for the group's survival, not just an option.

The CEO AI training program aimed to shift perceptions among CEOs regarding AI innovation and was conducted over the weekends starting June 1, involving over 50 CEOs from various subsidiaries, concluding on June 6.

During the training, Shin engaged in creating AI services using a 'vibe coding' method that implements programs through natural language commands and participated in the development of AI agents. Discussions were also held regarding the group's AX promotion strategy and future directions.

This year, Lotte will implement 'practical AI agent training' for all employees, utilizing AI to streamline repetitive tasks such as data analysis and report writing.

Additionally, Lotte plans to introduce external generative AI next month and will host the 'Lotte AI Hackathon' and 'AI Challenge' to enhance employees' AI utilization skills.

The AI Hackathon will be a competition to showcase capabilities in AI agent development, while the AI Challenge will evaluate the progress of key AI projects across subsidiaries.

Furthermore, as part of the group's AX initiative, Lotte will gather over 150 executives responsible for AI and information technology for a two-day meeting starting on June 18 to share AX strategies and discuss ways to enhance group competitiveness.

A Lotte representative stated, "We plan to discuss performance-based AX strategies, work platforms for the AI agent era, and share examples of successful AI implementations under the theme of the real value created by AX."