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takyon writes:

A Vice Chairman at a large South Korean conglomerate ("chaebol") has died in an apparent suicide:

A senior executive of South Korea's Lotte Group has died, an official at the country's fifth-largest family-run conglomerate told Reuters on Friday, amid a sweeping criminal probe into the business. The official, who declined to be named as he was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, said a police investigation into the death of Lee In-won, a Lotte Group Vice Chairman, was underway. He did not elaborate. Yonhap News Agency [...] [adds] that a suicide note was found in the executive's car.

Also at Bloomberg. So what's happening over at Lotte? Alleged tax evasion:

Prosecutors raided additional offices of Lotte Group's policy headquarters Thursday [August 4th] in order to gain evidence regarding alleged tax evasion by group founder Shin Kyuk-ho, officials said Friday. Shin is now suspected of evading roughly 600 billion won ($540 million) of gift taxes while transferring assets to his common-law wife Seo Mi-kyung and their daughter Shin Yoo-mi.

[Continues...]

Slap-on-the-wrist fines:

South Korea's antitrust watchdog has slapped a fine of 500 million won (US$444,000) on Lotte Group (Chairman Shin Dong-bin) for false reporting of its affiliates' shareholders. According to the Fair Trade Commission, 11 affiliates of the South Korea's fifth-largest conglomerate, which includes Hotel Lotte, Lotte Logistics and Lotte Corporation, were hit by a combined 570 million won fine on May 27. Under the country's fair trade law, companies with assets exceeding 5 trillion won are obligated to disclose stakes held by the company's head and his or her family members in the company's affiliates at home and abroad.

And finally, on August 24th, potential prosecution:

South Korea's antitrust watchdog is expected to file a petition against Lotte Group founder Shin Kyuk-ho with prosecutors for the false reporting of its overseas affiliates' shareholding, informed sources said Wednesday. The secretariat of the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has already informed Lotte of the plan for the legal punitive step after a review of the case that happened when Shin was in control of South Korea's fifth-largest conglomerate.

[...] Many of Lotte's affiliates are based in Japan or not listed on the South Korean stock market. A number of problems in the group's governance structure have been laid bare with the ongoing secession feud between Shin's two sons: Dong-bin and Dong-joo.

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