Asia

Lotte chair appears for prosecutors probe on corruption

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Lotte group chairman Shin Dong-bin, center, arrives to undergo questioning over suspected embezzlement at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016. Shin was summoned to Seoul District Public Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday to be questioned over allegations of malpractice and embezzlement involving his group. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) (The Associated Press)

An unidentified man, left, hurls papers to Lotte Group's Chairman Shin Dong-bin, center, as he arrives to undergo questioning over suspected embezzlement at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016. Shin was summoned to Seoul District Public Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday to be questioned over allegations of malpractice and embezzlement involving his group. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) (The Associated Press)

Lotte Group's Chairman Shin Dong-bin, center, bows as he arrives to undergo questioning over suspected embezzlement at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016. Shin was summoned to Seoul District Public Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday to be questioned over allegations of malpractice and embezzlement involving his group. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) (The Associated Press)

South Korean prosecutors are questioning Lotte Group's chairman in a corruption probe at the country's fifth-largest business group.

Shin Dong-bin told reporters outside the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office building on Tuesday that he regretted causing concern and will cooperate with the prosecutors.

Lotte Group, which operates South Korea's largest discount and department store chains, is a household name in South Korea.

The months-long investigation into allegations of slush funds, embezzlement and tax evasion at Lotte was halted temporarily after the group's vice chairman was found dead last month in a suspected suicide just hours before he was to face questioning.

Lotte withdraw an initial public offering plan for Hotel Lotte in June due to the probe.