It has been confirmed that the third-generation owners of LOTTE Group and Hanwha Group met on the 21st at the premium ice cream shop 'Benson Creamery' in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam, Seoul. Shin Yoo-Yeol (39), the eldest son of LOTTE Chairman Shin Dong-Bin and Vice President of LOTTE Corporation, visited the brand store personally planned and operated by Kim Dong-Seon (35), the third son of Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-Youn and Vice President in charge of future vision at Hanwha Hotels & Resorts. Attention is focused on the connection between the MZ generation (born between the 1980s and 2000s) in the business community.

Vice President Kim Dong-seon (first on the right in the left photo) of Hanwha Hotel & Resort's Future Vision Department meets Vice President Shin Yu-yeol of LOTTE Corporation's Future Growth Department in front of the Benson Creamery store in Gangnam, Seoul, on the afternoon of 21st./Courtesy of Choi Hyo-jung.

According to the distribution industry, Vice President Shin Yoo-Yeol visited the pre-release party for Benson in Cheongdam-dong that evening and had a meeting with Vice President Kim Dong-Seon. Benson is a premium ice cream brand that was recently launched, in which Vice President Kim Dong-Seon has been involved since the planning stage.

Shin Yoo-Yeol is the Vice President in charge of future growth at LOTTE Corporation. He also serves as the head of global strategy at LOTTE Biologics and the CEO of LOTTE Financial. As the son of LOTTE Chairman Shin Dong-Bin, he is regarded as the management heir who will lead LOTTE Group. His mission is to discover new growth engines for LOTTE Group.

Vice President Kim Dong-Seon is currently leading Hanwha Hotels & Resorts, focusing on optimizing premium dining brands and planning high-end food and beverage (F&B) content. Benson has garnered attention in the industry as an independent gourmet brand. Before meeting with Vice President Shin, he responded to a question from ChosunBiz regarding his determination related to the launch of Benson Creamery by saying, "Benson fighting!"

On that day, Vice President Shin's visit transcended a personal friendship, interpreted as an 'exchange of brand insight' among young figures in the business world and a means to confirm content connections. An industry insider noted, "The fact that Vice President Shin visited Vice President Kim's brand can be read as a kind of 'sign,'" and added, "From a position that promotes both dining, distribution, and cultural content, there could be future collaboration possibilities or a basis for networking."