"'Shin Kyuk-ho and Common-Law Marriage' Seo Mi-kyung Also Pays Condolences... Lotte Hotel Advisor Shin Yu-mi Draws Attention"

Shin Kyuk-ho, Honorary Chairman of Lotte Group, and Seo Mi-kyung, his common-law partner, are attending the first trial sentencing hearing related to charges of embezzlement, breach of trust, and tax evasion at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 22nd. Photo by Asia Economy DB

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Su-wan] Seo Mi-kyung, who was in a de facto marital relationship with Shin Kyuk-ho, Honorary Chairman of Lotte Group who passed away on the 19th, visited the late chairman's funeral hall that day to pay her respects.

Seo, along with her older brother Seo Jin-seok, former CEO of Yugi Development, and his spouse, visited the funeral hall set up at Seoul Asan Medical Center around 11:10 PM and stayed for about 30 minutes.

Honorary Chairman Shin had a de facto marital relationship with Seo Mi-kyung, who was the winner of the '1st Miss Lotte' pageant, while conducting business in Korea.

Seo was a youthful star in the 1970s who was active in the entertainment industry under the stage name Seo Seung-hee.

She began her acting career as a child actor in the 1969 film Blood and Tears. In 1972, she won the grand prize at the 1st Miss Lotte pageant, and after appearing in Lotte Confectionery commercials, she rapidly rose as an icon of the era.

In 1973, she starred in the film Eighteen Years Old and appeared in works such as High School Teacher, Youth Crash Landing, Mixed-Blood Julie, and the third and fourth installments of Kim Doo-han.

At the peak of her popularity as an entertainer in 1982, she suddenly purchased a plane ticket to Japan.

The following year, news broke that she had given birth to Honorary Chairman Shin's daughter, revealing the reason she left the entertainment industry.

At that time, Seo was in her mid-20s, and Honorary Chairman Shin was in his sixties.

Five years later, Honorary Chairman Shin registered Shin Yu-mi, born from his relationship with Seo, in the family registry. Shin Yu-mi currently holds an advisory position at Lotte Hotel.

Honorary Chairman Shin faced hardships in his later years while taking care of Seo and their daughter.

He was prosecuted in 2017 on charges of causing losses to Lotte Shopping by selling the concession rights of Lotte Cinema's theater snack bars at a low price to a company where Seo Mi-kyung, former Chairwoman Shin Young-ja, and others were major shareholders, and for paying false salaries amounting to 10.1 billion KRW to Shin Yu-mi and others. In October of last year, the Supreme Court confirmed a three-year prison sentence.