Lotte Group chairman Shin Dong-bin and vice chairman Lee In-won (right) attend an opening ceremony for Lotte Miso Microcredit Bank in Seoul, South Korea, December 30, 2009.
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Lee, who was 69, had been scheduled to appear before prosecutors on Friday morning for questioning, Yonhap said.
Yonhap news agency reported Friday that the body of Lee In-won, the Lotte Group’s No. 2, was found on a trail in Yangpyeong, 55 kilometers (34 miles) east of Seoul around 7.10 a.m (2230GMT Thursday), after police received a report that a man in his 60s had been seen hanging from a tree. The authorities are also investigating the scene including his auto which is found near the incident site according to the police.
“It is hard to believe”, Lotte Group said in a text message to reporters.
“He oversaw Lotte Group’s overall housekeeping and core businesses and accurately understood the minds of Chairman-in-Chief Shin Kyuk-ho and Chairman Shin Dong-bin to be carried out well in subsidiary companies”, Lotte Group said in a statement.
In this December 30, 2009 photo, Lotte group chairman Shin Dong-bin and vice chairman Lee In-won, right, attend an opening ceremony for Lotte Miso Microcredit Bank in Seoul, South Korea.
“Vice Chairman Lee has always emphasized improving Lotte employees’ sense of ethics as he believed ethical management directly translates to improving company value”.
Mr Lee, who is survived by his wife and a son, was supposed to be the latest in a series of Lotte executives being summoned by Korean prosecutors.
In July, Shin Young-ja, the daughter of Lotte’s founder, was arrested on charges of malpractice and embezzlement. Ms Shin has denied the allegations. Lee based on an identification card, but they will also run fingerprint tests, a police official said.
The crisis has taken a toll on Lotte’s business.
He was the only nonfamily member to have been assigned a vice president role within Lotte Group.
The corporate corruption allegations surfaced as Lotte reeled from a bitter family feud over control of the business empire.
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The Lotte investigation is among a dozen high-profile corruption cases that have erupted in South Korea this year, including allegations that a senior prosecutor accepted bribes from the founder of the country’s largest online game maker.
