Lee In Won, vice chairman of Korea‘s far-flung Lotte Group (Seoul / South Korea; www.lotte.co.kr), which includes chemicals and plastics in addition to the hotel business it is best known for at home, was found dead on 26 August. The death, which is being called a suicide, came only hours before he was due to be questioned by state authorities as part of a criminal investigation on an alleged corruption scandal at the family-run business. This past June, the Seoul Central Prosecutor’s Office led a search of 17 of the group’s locations including corporate headquarters and the homes of chairman Shin Dong Bin and other key executives.

The 69 year old, who had been with the group since 1973, was regarded as a close aide to Shin Dong Bin. “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 said in a statement. The executive is also said to have been charged with finding new business growth opportunities. Korea-based financial analysts said the executive’s death will be a blow to the prosecutors’ cause, due to his high ranking, almost on par with that of the owner family – Lee survived a bitter family succession fight last year.

According to reports, Lotte’s finances have been stretched by the criminal probe, which also in June forced its hotel unit to cancel an initial public offering designed to raise as much as KRW 5.7 tr (EUR 4.6 bn). The investigation was also blamed for Lotte Chemical’s withdrawal from the bidding for US-based PVC producer Axiall, which US rival Westlake later acquired for USD 3.8 bn, including debts and other liabilities – see Plasteurope.com of 15.06.2016. Lotte and Axiall are joint venture partners in an ethane cracker project in Lake Charles, Louisiana / USA, for which groundbreaking ceremonies were held in mid-June – see Plasteurope.com of 17.06.2016. Adding to the Korean group’s woes, the European Commission last month launched an anti-dumping investigation concerning PET feedstock PTA against South Korean producers – see Plasteurope.com of 11.08.2016.