Lotte Family's Shin Dong-ju Loses Again in Lawsuit Against Chairman Shin Dong-bin in Japan

Japanese Court: "Chairman Shin Dong-bin Has No Disqualification as Director of Lotte Holdings"

Former Vice Chairman of Lotte Holdings Japan, Shin Dong-ju (left), and Chairman of Lotte Group, Shin Dong-bin (right).

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Shin Dong-joo, chairman of SDJ Corporation (former vice chairman of Japan Lotte Holdings), lost the lawsuit filed in Japan demanding the dismissal of his younger brother Shin Dong-bin, chairman of Lotte Group, from the board of directors of Lotte Holdings.

According to Lotte Group on the 23rd, the Tokyo District Court ruled in a trial held the previous day that "Although Chairman Shin Dong-bin was convicted under Korean law, Lotte Holdings appointed him as a director fully aware of this fact, so there is no disqualification, and it does not constitute an act of misconduct."

Shin Dong-bin also serves as the representative director and chairman of Lotte Holdings. Earlier, at the Lotte Holdings regular shareholders' meeting held in June last year, Chairman Shin Dong-joo raised a proposal to dismiss Shin Dong-bin from the board of directors of Lotte Holdings, stating that "It is not permissible under compliance management for a person convicted in relation to duties at Korean Lotte Group affiliates to hold a director position at Lotte Holdings," but the proposal was rejected.

After the dismissal proposal was not accepted, in July, he even filed a lawsuit in a Japanese court demanding the dismissal of Shin Dong-bin from the board of directors of Lotte Holdings.

At the same time, when a will naming Shin Dong-bin as successor was revealed at the late Shin Kyuk-ho’s Tokyo office, former Vice Chairman Shin Dong-joo opposed it, saying, "This will has no legal effect."

With this ruling, Chairman Shin Dong-joo has lost once again in the lawsuit against Shin Dong-bin. Shin Dong-joo filed lawsuits claiming he was unjustly dismissed from the boards of directors of Lotte Korea, Lotte Shoji, Lotte Bussan, and Lotte Real Estate in Japan, going all the way to the Japanese Supreme Court, but lost in 2019.