Top court upholds suspended jail term for Lotte chief

By Kang Seung-woo

The nation's top court upheld a suspended prison sentence for Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, Thursday, over a massive bribery scandal that influenced the decision to remove former President Park Geun-hye from office.

Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin

Shin was convicted of giving 7 billion won ($5.9 million) in bribes to Choi Soon-sil, a confidant of the former president. In February 2018, he was put behind bars after a local court sentenced him to two and a half years in jail, but an appellate court sentenced him in October 2018 to 30 months in prison suspended for four years, ending his eight-month detention.

After the appeals court ruling, the prosecution appealed the court's decision on Shin's “light” sentence and the chairman's side also took it to the top court in protest of the guilty verdicts.

Upholding the appeals court's judgment, the Supreme Court acknowledged the Lotte chairman gave the money to a government-linked sports foundation virtually controlled by Choi in hopes of receiving business favors including a license to operate a duty free shop.

However, it also accepted the assumption that Shin made the bribery decision “passively” for fear that refusing the former president's request for the donation would negatively affect the running of the nation's fifth-largest conglomerate.

Along with the bribery case, the 64-year-old was also found guilty of embezzlement as he caused losses to the group after leasing out the management rights of concession stands at Lotte Cinema outlets to the group's affiliates owned by his family members under contracts disadvantageous to the group.

He was also charged with embezzlement over another incident, after he ordered Lotte affiliates to pay money under the fake name “wage” to some members of his family who never worked for the companies. But the Supreme Court cleared the charge, agreeing with his argument that his father, group founder Shin Kyuk-ho, had made the decisions, and he simply obeyed the orders from his father.

“We are sorry for causing concern to the public,” the retail giant said in a press statement after the ruling.

“Lotte will work hard to become a company that contributes to the national economy and fulfills its social responsibilities.”

The massive corruption scandal, in which Choi meddled in state affairs exploiting her ties with Park and obtaining financial benefits, came to light in October 2016 and immediately rocked the nation. Eventually, Park was impeached the following year.