Lotte chief sheds tears at No. 2 man's funeral

[THE INVESTOR] Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin on Aug. 26 went to the funeral of Lee In-won, his closest aide and the group’s vice chairman who committed suicide that morning.

The chairman choked on his words and could not get any words out when questioned by the media.   

“There is nothing we can say about how he feels, and we have nothing to officially announce about the funeral,” a Lotte official said.

Lotte Group founder Shin Kyuk-ho and his eldest son Dong-joo was not found to have come by the mortuary. 

Lee took his life hours before he was scheduled to be questioned by prosecutors as a part of an ongoing investigation into Lotte.

“We concluded that he died as an act of suicide based on what we have investigated so far,” the police said two days after Lee's death.

Industry watchers said the Lotte key man's death, who had claimed that the group had no slush funds, could hamper the prosecution's investigation. 

Authorities, however, showed a strong willingness to resume their probe once the funeral was over.

“It is sad that Lee committed suicide but that should not significantly influence the probe,” a prosecution official said.

Lotte Group founder, his two sons Dong-bin and Dong-joo, and his third wife Seo Mi-kyung will be summoned as planned, according to the prosecutors.

By Shin Ji-hye/The Korea Herald (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)