SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – Prosecutors said Wednesday they indicted the Lotte Group’s founder, his mistress and all of his three children on embezzlement, tax evasion and other charges, in the latest case highlighting the outsized influence of founding families over South Korean publicly listed companies.
Five family members including Lotte’s founder Shin Kyuk-ho, 94, and the group’s current chair, Shin Dong-bin, 61, together allegedly evaded a total $76 million in taxes and embezzled $46 million of company funds, Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said in a statement.
Three others are the founder’s older son Shin Dong-joo, 62, his daughter Shin young-ja, 73, and his 57-year-old common-law wife Seo Mi-kyung.
The prosecutors said the Shin family members also incurred $123 million of losses to Lotte companies as the family used their influence to control corporate funds and to make decisions favorable to them, not to shareholders.
“We have been seriously reflecting on what efforts Lotte should make for society and for the national economy,” Lotte said in a statement. “We will continue to strive to build a good company.”