"Why, they say he served a term in the penitentiary for embezzlement.
Shin Kyuk-ho, who in 1948 founded the Lotte Group – South Korea's fifth biggest conglomerate – was convicted of embezzlement and breach of trust in a case that caps off a tumultuous year for one of South Korea's most recognisable corporate brands.
He is selling non-core assets such as the car rental and financing units to strengthen the company's balance sheet, after it diversified in search of new growth under his predecessor, Lee Suk-chae, who has gone on trial for alleged embezzlement and breach of fiduciary duty.
