Lotte Vice Chairman Found Dead Amid Probe; Suicide Suspected

World News Rudolph Rodriquez
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Lotte lost its vice chairman and top executive, Lee In-won. He is a close friend of the company’s chairman Shin Dong-bin. The incident happened on Friday, and according to some reports he may have committed suicide. He was found dead a few hours before a scheduled meeting with prosecutors. Before his death, there were allegations of corruption against the company and investigations were ongoing by the police.

Lee In-won’s body was discovered under a tree along a riverside in Yangyeong, close to the capital Seoul according to the police. The police believes that Mr. Lee committed suicide by hanging himself with a necktie. Investigations are still ongoing and they intend to carry out an autopsy in the next coming days. Lotte also issued a statement confirming Mr. Lee In-won’s death.

The Police said Mr. Lee In-won left a suicide note in his car. And according to the National News Agency, Lee was reported to have left his home in Seoul on Thursday evening, informing his family that his was going out to exercise.

Prosecutors had questioned another executive Hwang Kag- gyu on Thursday in respect of the corruption allegation leveled against the company; which is the fifth largest family-owned conglomerate in South Korean. There were indications that after questioning Mr. Lee, the prosecutor’s next target would be the company’s chairman Shin Dong-bin.

Lotte is involved in a lot of businesses like hotels, shopping malls, movie theatres, and owns properties across South Korea. The business empire was built by Shin Kyuk-Ho who is now 93 years old. Mr. Shin and his brother Dong-Joo, have publicly accused each other of misappropriating the company’s funds. Presently, Lotte’s employees are about 310, 000 people.