Seung-wook Kim, CEO of Lotte Ventures, is one of the 100 leading corporate venturing professionals in our 2025 Powerlist.
Lotte Ventures, the investment arm of South Korea-based multinational corporation Lotte, has been going through a period of change during the past year. The unit has been expanding its investments in overseas markets, such as Japan, Vietnam and the US.
It also went through a thorough executive reshuffle that saw Seung-wook Kim – a respected executive within the Lotte parent company – replace Young-min Jeon, who had led the unit since 2022, late last year.
Founded in 2016 and formerly known as Lotte Accelerator, Lotte Ventures supports young companies across all the sectors relevant to the Lotte conglomerate, such as retail, logistics, culture, tourism, food and beverages, chemicals and finance. Its activities are split into a central unit based in South Korea with 20 differently themed funds, and a ¥50m ($350,000) Japanese fund that targets services, products and technologies that can enhance customer experiences, as well as funds based in Vietnam.
In 2023, the unit opened an office in Silicon Valley, which is primarily focused on biotech, advanced materials and robotics, to develop deeper connections in the biggest VC hub in the world. The unit also has a startup support programme called L-Camp, which it recently expanded to Japan.
Kim has long been at the forefront of Lotte’s innovation activities.
Lotte Ventures’ more recent investments include reusable container manufacturer Returnit, electric vehicle charging technology developer Aaron, personalised health solutions company Biocom, neuromorphic chip developer Anaflash and aircraft diagnostic startup Weflo.
Kim has long been at the forefront of Lotte’s innovation activities. He was previously head of corporate strategy at Lotte Holdings, serving as a key adviser to the corporate’s vice chairman, Lee Dong-woo. Kim also served as head of the corporate’s Shenyan office in China.
He was part of the Lotte Future Strategy Research Institute, after stints at Samil Accounting Corporation, Lone Star Korea and Boston Consulting Group.
Kim holds an MBA from New York University and a degree from Seoul National University’s department of business administration.
The Global Corporate Venturing Powerlist represents the 100 individuals spearheading the future of the corporate venturing industry.
These individuals excel in terms of their venturing approach and structure, number and quality of portfolio companies and in their contributions to the corporate venturing profession.
