Published : Oct. 20, 2015 - 13:34
The two sons of the Lotte Group founder once again clashed over control of the main office of their father, Lotte general chairman Shin Kyuk-ho, Tuesday, as a bitter fraternal battle over ownership of the South Korean retail giant continues to escalate.
Lotte Group, led by younger son Shin Dong-bin, demanded that SDJ Corporation, a company established and led by older son and former vice chairman of Lotte Holdings Shin Dong-joo, step out of the general chairman’s office, located on the 34th floor of Lotte Hotel Seoul.
SDJ Corporation chairman Shin Dong-joo heads to his father’s office in Lotte Hotel Seoul on Friday. (Yonhap)
Since last Friday, Shin Dong-joo has begun showing up at the office after unilaterally announcing that he will begin overseeing its operations.
Lotte Group vowed to “take legal action should SDJ Corporation continue to trespass and refuse to step out of the office despite continued warnings.”
On Monday, SDJ Corporation announced that Shin Kyuk-ho had fired his secretary Lee Il-min, a decision that Lotte Group said does not affect their personnel.
Meanwhile, Lotte Group on Sunday officially refused Shin Dong-joo’s demand to send him business reports on its core affiliates, dismissing the move as “lacking legal grounds.”
By Sohn Ji-young (
jys@heraldcorp.com)