Honorary Chairman Shin Kyuk-ho of Lotte Passes Away...Foreign Media Call Him a "Self-Made Tycoon and Chuinggum Tycoon"

Born in 1921, passed away at age 99
Lotte, a major company spanning Korea and Japan
Federation of Korean Industries: "Dedicated to our economy for over half a century"
Japanese and American media issue urgent breaking news

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Lotte Group founder and Honorary Chairman Shin Kyuk-ho passed away at the age of 99 on the 19th, amid waves of condolences from domestic and international media and the business community. Honorary Chairman Shin died at 4:29 p.m. that day, watched over by family members including Shin Dong-ju, former Vice Chairman of Japan’s Lotte Holdings (currently Chairman of SDJ Corporation), and Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of Lotte Group.

Born in 1921, Honorary Chairman Shin was a first-generation entrepreneur who built his business by traveling monthly between Korea and Japan. After graduating from Waseda University’s Department of Chemistry in 1946, he founded Lotte Co., Ltd. in 1948 with 10 employees. He expanded into trading, real estate, merchandise, and distribution, growing it into one of Japan’s top ten conglomerates.

With assets of 115 trillion won and ranked fifth in Korea’s business world, Lotte Group was born in 1965 following the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and Japan. The group’s foundation, Lotte Confectionery, was established in 1967 and expanded into distribution, industry, construction, and petrochemicals. Pursuing the dream of “tourism for national prosperity,” it led investments in Hotel Lotte, Lotte World Adventure, and the Jamsil Lotte World Tower, as well as construction projects. The Federation of Korean Industries expressed deep condolences in a statement that day, saying, “Our business community mourns the passing of Honorary Chairman Shin, who devoted over half a century to Korea’s economic growth and industrial development,” and called him “a pioneer of Korea’s economic growth.”

Foreign media also expressed condolences to Honorary Chairman Shin. Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun reported, “Honorary Chairman Shin expanded his business in Korea with hotels and department stores, growing Lotte Group into Korea’s top conglomerate.” Kyodo News broke the news, describing him as “a remarkable Zainichi Korean who left for Japan alone as a teenager and built a giant group in both Japan and Korea.” Kyodo highlighted Honorary Chairman Shin’s close ties with Japanese political figures, including the late Nobusuke Kishi, former Prime Minister and grandfather-in-law of Shinzo Abe, who was involved in Korea-Japan diplomatic normalization, as well as former Prime Ministers Yasuhiro Nakasone and others. The New York Times called Honorary Chairman Shin Kyuk-ho a “tycoon,” evaluating him as “a figure who grew a small postwar business in Japan into a large corporation spanning both Korea and Japan.”