Seoul: Lotte Chemical Corp., the chemical division of South Korea's Lotte Group, announced on Friday its strategic shift towards new growth sectors while restructuring its core petrochemical operations amid a persistent industry downturn. The company aims to focus on advanced materials, fine chemicals, battery materials, and hydrogen energy as key growth pillars.

According to Yonhap News Agency, during a CEO Investor Meeting on Thursday, CEO Lee Young-jun detailed the company's restructuring initiatives at its regional petrochemical complexes. He emphasized the importance of building a balanced business portfolio by nurturing these new growth engines and revamping the competitiveness of the petrochemical business through preemptive restructuring. In February, the government approved a restructuring plan involving Lotte Chemical and HD Hyundai Chemical Co. at the Daesan industrial complex, which includes a voluntary reduction of their combined naphtha cracking center capacity by 1.1 million tons.

Lotte Chemical is also seeking government approval to spin off its NCC operations at the Yeosu industrial complex and merge them with Yeochun NCC Co. This move is part of a broader restructuring effort that began in early 2025, aimed at improving facility utilization and strengthening the balance sheet through the divestment of non-core assets.

The company operates three overseas petrochemical plants in the United States, Indonesia, and Malaysia, alongside three domestic facilities. In 2025, Lotte Chemical's net loss widened to 2.49 trillion won (US$1.7 billion) from a net loss of 1.82 trillion won the previous year, highlighting the challenges faced by the petrochemical division.