Korea-Japan Lotte Legend's Eternal 'Young Werther'... Affection for the Diaspora

Behind the Cold-Blooded Businessman’s Face, Human Shin Kyuk-ho
Ulsan Hometown People Hold a Feast to Comfort After Submersion
Embracing Zainichi Koreans, Scholarship Students, and Foreign Workers
Intersecting the 'Dream of Tourism for National Prosperity' and 'Personal Pain'

Honorary Chairman Shin Kyuk-ho, founder of Lotte Group [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] The protagonist of the Lotte Group myth, ranked fifth in the business world. The last first-generation founding CEO who managed operations as the oldest CEO, traveling monthly between Korea and Japan. These are the epithets attached to Shin Kyuk-ho, the honorary chairman and founder of Lotte Group, who passed away on the 19th. Behind the face of a cold-hearted businessman who took credit and sincerity as his 'principles' and sharply pointed out customer service and safety inspections, there was a human side that crossed the 'close yet distant countries' of Korea and Japan. He never hesitated to support his hometown of Ulsan, where he spent his childhood, and the Korean diaspora in Japan.

Chairman Shin showed particular affection for his hometown people. To comfort those who suffered from the flooding of his hometown, he held a feast every May since 1971 in front of his villa in Dungiri, Ulju-gun, Ulsan. He also took the lead in supporting the diaspora Korean residents in Japan who lost their motherland amid the uncomfortable relations between pre-modern Korea and Japan. Representative figures who had ties with Chairman Shin include professional Go player Cho Chikun, pro wrestler Rikidozan, baseball players Jang Hoon and Baek In-cheon. In 1994, he established the Lotte Scholarship Foundation and Lotte Welfare Foundation to support scholarship students and pay attention to the lives of persecuted foreign workers. In 2009, he also founded the Lotte Samdong Welfare Foundation for his hometown residents.

◆The Dreamy Young Shin Kyuk-ho=Chairman Shin was born in 1921 during the Japanese colonial period as the eldest son among ten siblings in a wealthy family in Ulsan, Gyeongnam. He went to Japan early to study abroad and majored in chemistry at Waseda University in 1946. He lived as a working student in Japan, delivering milk part-time. A Japanese tycoon who noticed his punctuality and creditworthiness during deliveries provided initial investment. In 1948, he founded Lotte Co., Ltd. with ten employees, and by 1959 established Lotte Trading, 1961 Lotte Real Estate, 1968 Lotte Corporation, and Family Co., becoming one of Japan's top ten conglomerates.

In the 1960s, he shifted his business focus to Korea. Following the normalization of Korea-Japan diplomatic relations in 1965, he laid the foundation by establishing Lotte Aluminum in Korea in 1966. 1967 was a landmark year when he founded Lotte Confectionery, the group's core affiliate, marking the start of investment in his motherland. In 1973, he established Hotel Lotte, Lotte Electronics, and Lotte Construction; in 1974, Lotte Industries, Lotte Trading, and Lotte Chilsung Beverage.

On December 7, 1979, Honorary Chairman Shin Kyuk-ho and his wife are cutting the tape at the opening ceremony of Lotte Shopping Center (currently Lotte Department Store Sogong-dong Main Branch).

In 1978, he founded Lotte Construction, Lotte Samkang, Lotte Ham, and Lotte Milk; in 1979, Lotteria (now Lotte GRS) and Lotte Shopping; in 1980, Korea Fujifilm; and in 1982, Lotte Canon and Daehong Planning. In 1983, he established the Lotte Scholarship Foundation to support students majoring in basic sciences. In 1985, he founded Lotte Canon. In 2011, he was appointed as the Chairman of Lotte Group. In 2015, he stepped down from active management as his position changed from CEO to honorary chairman of Japan Lotte Holdings, the Japanese Lotte holding company. In 2017, he retired as director of Lotte Shopping, Lotte Construction, Japan Lotte Holdings, and Lotte Aluminum; at that time, the Lotte World Tower opened, and the 50th anniversary new vision 'Lifetime Value Creator' was announced. He also transitioned to a holding company system to enhance management transparency. In 2018, he was appointed honorary chairman of Lotte Group in Korea.

◆Light and Shadow=Since founding Japan Lotte in 1948, Chairman Shin was the longest-serving first-generation entrepreneur and was the one who rooted and developed the service industry in Korea. He was awarded the Bronze Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit in 1981 and the Gold Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit in 1995, the first in the tourism industry, for his contribution to the development of the domestic tourism sector. Chairman Shin often emphasized, "Instead of just saying that the number of foreign tourists visiting our country is decreasing, we ourselves must make efforts to make them visit our country again." He meant that tourism must develop for Korea, a resource-poor country, to attract foreign currency.

Although he was the founder of Lotte, he also experienced personal family hardships. During his tenure, he failed to establish a clear succession plan, leading to the infamous 'Prince's Rebellion' sibling management dispute in 2015, which caused him humiliation. The image of Lotte Group, built over a lifetime, was significantly damaged both domestically and internationally.

On June 5, 2011, Honorary Chairman Shin Kyuk-ho is visiting the construction site of the Lotte World Tower's Second Lotte World complex (C2).

The Jamsil Lotte World Tower, the dream project of Chairman Shin who dreamed of a '21st-century skyscraper,' was initially embroiled in safety controversies. The ultra-high-rise project, part of the Second Lotte World development, was repeatedly scrapped since 1988 but finally approved in 2011 and completed in 2017. It was a fruit of persuading the government with the argument that "we cannot only show palaces." After completion, U.S. President Donald Trump praised it as "very impressive, a beautiful tower," highlighting its high level of completion.