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Lotte founder asks prosecution to investigate his son

December 1, 2015
Lotte founder Shin Kyuk-ho (L); Shin Dong-joo (C) and Shin Dong-bin (R) (Yonhap file photo)

Lotte founder Shin Kyuk-ho (L); Shin Dong-joo (C) and Shin Dong-bin (R) (Yonhap file photo)

SEOUL (Yonhap) — The Lotte Group founder on Tuesday asked the prosecution to investigate his son for allegedly obstructing business as the family is locked in a bitter succession feud between siblings.

Shin Kyuk-ho filed the charges against his second son Dong-bin, chairman of the group, and two other chief executives of the group’s units with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office for business obstruction and concealing properties.

Lotte, South Korea’s fifth-largest conglomerate, has been mired in a leadership dispute between the group founder’s two sons — Dong-joo and Dong-bin — since last summer. The two sons had each controlled the company’s operations in Japan and Korea until earlier this year.

While the eldest son Dong-joo was ousted from 26 key positions at Japanese units between last December and January this year, Dong-bin took the helm of Tokyo-based Lotte Holdings, the group’s holding firm, after winning support from Japanese shareholders in August.

The three — chief of Lotte Holdings Co. Takayuki Tsukuda; head of Lotte Capital Co. Masamoto Kobayashi; and Dong-bin — are suspected of providing incorrect and exaggerated information on the eldest son to Shin Kyuk-ho over the course of his dismissal, Shin’s representatives said in a press release.

Shin Kyuk-ho’s lawyers also claimed that the defendants illegally took his seal to prevent Shin from using it.

Last month, the eldest son filed a lawsuit against Tsukuda with the Tokyo District Court in a sideline attack against his younger brother, as he has teamed up with Dong-bin.