[THE INVESTOR] The probe into Lotte Group is set to engulf the civil and military services as the investigators close in on a retired Air Force general on suspicion of bribery. According to reports, the investigators have uncovered a money trail leading from Lotte Group to a retired Air Force lieutenant general who served as the deputy chief of staff.The Lotte World Tower in southern Seoul. The InvestorLotte Group is suspected of having handed 1.2 billion won ($1 million) to a construction firm

The global electric vehicle market is predicted to grow around 60 percent this year and next year amid global efforts to boost the green car industry, according to market data Tuesday. According to Japanese market research firm B3, the volume of the global electric car battery market is expected to grow 66 percent this year to 16,000 kilowatt-hours from the previous year. This is a 23 times increase over the past seven years, compared to 1,140 kilowatt-hours in 2010. The figure is again predicte

[THE INVESTOR] Prosecutors are investigating allegations that Lotte Group chairman Shin Kyuk-ho, 94, used real estate transactions to accumulate slush funds. The authorities say that Shin purchased cheap real estate and sold them off to other affiliates at a much higher price. They are searching for evidence linking the proceeds from such sales to corporate slush funds. According to the industry, Shin resold land that he had granted to a Lotte scholarship foundation for 103 billion won ($87 mill

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s fifth-largest conglomerate Lotte Group is being probed by the Seoul Central Prosecutor’s office on allegations of embezzlement and new discoveries are being dug up. Prosecutors currently speculate that there could have been 300 billion won ($260 million) worth of embezzled money derived from the acquisition of China-based home shopping network Lucky Pai in 2010, reported a media outlet. Lotte acquired the then heavily indebted network with funds from its retail arms

[THE INVESTOR] The corruption probe into Lotte Group continues to expand with the prosecution raiding Lotte Chemical Corp. and Lotte Engineering and Construction on June 14. In the early hours of Tuesday, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office raided the two companies in southern Seoul. The prosecution, which conducted a mass raid on 17 Lotte-related locations on June 10, is reported to have reasons to believe that the two companies were instrumental in the founding family’s illegal acti

Sales of vehicles from Hyundai Motor and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors have nearly quadrupled in Mexico in May from a year ago, industry data showed Tuesday.Data compiled by the Mexican Automotive Industry Association showed that the two South Korean carmakers sold a combined 7,727 units in Mexico in May, compared with 2,049 units from the same period last year.Strong sales also raised the combined market share by Hyundai and Kia in Mexico to 6.4 percent, an all-time record high, in May.Last

Accumulated global electric vehicle sales reached 1.2 million as of last year, according to a report compiled by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the International Energy Agency released Sunday. A total of 550,000 EVs including battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles were sold last year, which is a 70 percent increase compared to the 324,000 EVs sold in 2014. The number of newly registered electric vehicles in China was the highest last year wi

[THE INVESTOR] Shin Dong-joo, the elder son of Lotte Group founder Shin Kyuk-ho, is readying for a new round in the fight for control of the conglomerate. According to local news reports, Shin Dong-joo’s legal team has found “elements that could be problematic” in Hotel Lotte’s books, and plans to disclose the information “at the appropriate time.”Shin Dong-joo at a press conference in Seoul last year. The InvestorShin Dong-joo had hoped to succeed his father as the group’s chairman, but was ous

[THE INVESTOR] Lotte Group is facing the biggest crisis in its history with a corruption probe bringing its major projects to a halt. Following a raid on June 10, the group’s plans to acquire a U.S.-based chemicals maker have been scrapped, while listing of Hotel Lotte on the local market has reportedly been put on hold indefinitely. In the afternoon of June 10, Lotte Chemicals Corp. scrapped its Axiall acquisition plans made public only three days prior. The plans were made formal on June 7, an

Hotel Lotte withdraws IPO as embezzlement probe deepens

Lotte Group’s shareholding structure -- dominated by Japanese entities -- and its wrongdoings during the previous administration are behind the prosecution’s raid on the conglomerate, local news outlets have alleged since the June 10 raid.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office carried out simultaneous raids on 17 locations linked to the group including Lotte Group headquarters, and the homes of a number of key executives.The office of Lotte Group founder Shin Kyuk-ho and chairman Shin Do

Hyundai Motor’s driver Thierry Neuville won the sixth round in the drivers division of the 2016 World Rally Championship in Sardinia, Italy that took place June 9-12, bumping Hyundai Motor to second place in the manufacturer division behind Volkswagen. Neuville brought Hyundai Motor to victory with the automaker’s new generation i20 World Rally Car. (Hyundai Motor)

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-largest carmaker, said Monday it plans to roll out a plug-in hybrid version of its K5 midsize sedan next month, the latest in a series of moves by carmakers to jostle for a position in the country's nascent market for eco-friendly vehicles.The vehicle, debuted at the Busan International Motor Show earlier this month, can travel up to 44 kilometers in electric mode. When the battery runs out, the vehicle can be switched to hybrid mode.Kia's larger sister com

Mobile app-based start-ups offering a business platform are changing the used car market, attracting car buyers seeking a better deal.Mobile trading is a new growth area for the used-car market in Korea, which has long been dominated by the traditional offline dealer-based transactions. Hey Dealer is one such newly created mobile application offering O2O services to used-car buyers. “Hey Dealer seeks to match offline used-car dealers with customers who want to sell their cars with minimal effort

The accumulated global sales of electric cars surpassed 1 million units for the first time last year, proving the eco-cars can take root as a segment of the global auto market, according to an annual research report released by the International Energy Agency, a leading global energy think tank, on June 6. IEA’s global EV outlook for 2016 showed the accumulated sales of electric cars across the world reached 1.26 million units last year.  Kia Motors’ Soul EVs are lined up for charging in Seoul.