Prosecutors indict 5 Lotte family members on corruption

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Prosecutors said Wednesday they indicted the Lotte Group's founder, his mistress and all of his three children on embezzlement, tax evasion and other charges, in the latest case highlighting the outsized influence of founding families over South Korean publicly listed companies.

Five family members including Lotte's founder Shin Kyuk-ho, 94, and the group's current chair, Shin Dong-bin, 61, together allegedly evaded a total $76 million in taxes and embezzled $46 million of company funds, Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said in a statement.

The prosecutors said the Shin family members also incurred $123 million of losses to Lotte companies as the family used their influence to control corporate funds and to make decisions favorable to them, not to shareholders.

The latest investigation into Lotte forced the group to suspend a plan to list shares of its hotel business, just months after its chairman emerged from a bruising public battle with his older brother for control of the group.