Lotte chief gets suspended prison sentence

SEOUL: A Seoul court found Lotte Group chairman Shin Dong-bin guilty of breach of trust and embezzlement and sentenced him to 20 months in prison, suspended for two years, leaving him free to try and revive the conglomerate after steep losses in China.

The Seoul Central District Court cleared the executive of some counts of breach of trust and one embezzlement charge. “I apologise to the public,” Shin said as he left court, without commenting further.

Prosecutors had sought a 10-year jail term for Shin on charges of embezzlement and breach of trust after a probe since 2016 into the retail-to-chemicals group.

The ruling will come as a relief to Lotte at the end of a tough year during which it became the highest-profile corporate victim of a Beijing-Seoul spat over South Korea’s installation of a US missile defence system.

South Korea’s fifth-largest conglomerate said, “We respect the court’s decision. Lotte Group executives and employees will further unite to contribute to economic progress and do our best to meet our social responsibility.”

The prosecution did not have an immediate comment. Legal experts said the prosecution was likely to appeal.

Shin is the subject of another ongoing trial related to a bribery scandal involving former president Park Geun-hye.

Prosecutors are seeking a fouryear jail term and a fine of 7 billion won (US$6.49mil).

In the meantime, yesterday’s ruling means Lotte, with 110.8 trillion won worth of assets, avoids a leadership vacuum for the time being as it navigates mounting China losses and an uncertain recovery.