On July 4, prosecutors sought an arrest warrant for Shin Young-ja, chairwoman of the Lotte Foundation and the eldest daughter of Lotte Group founder Shin Kyuk-ho, on charges of bribery and embezzlement.
Shin, 74, is suspected of having received around 3 billion won in kickbacks from companies including cosmetics brand Nature Republic in exchange for favorable placement in Lotte's duty-free shops.
Assuming that more companies offered kickbacks to Shin in return for the same favors, prosecutors have decided to further expand their investigations into the lobbying scandal.
The companies transferred the money by signing consulting contracts with BNF Trading, a retail consulting company owned by Shin's 49-year-old son, surnamed Jang.
Shin has been actually running the company and she is also suspected of having embezzled around 4 billion won of BNF Trading’s funds. Shin allegedly put the names of her three daughters and ghost employees on the list of BNF Trading’s board members and had their paychecks diverted to herself.
