Shin Kyuk-ho, honorary chairman of Lotte Group.

A funeral procession for the late Lotte Group founder and honorary Chairman Shin Kyuk-ho paid a symbolic farewell to the Lotte World Tower, the embodiment of Shin’s last dream during his life.

A funeral for Shin, who passed away at the age of 99, took place on Jan. 19.

The funeral cortege circled Lotte World Tower for five minutes. The late Lotte founder paid a farewell to Seoul’s landmark high-rise structure. Dedicated a few years ago, his life-long wish to build the tower came true.

About 1,400 Lotte Group executives and staff members lined nearby boulevards to pay homage to the late founder.

The late Shin was the last of the nation’s first-generation rags-to-riches industrial tycoons. The entrepreneur started a gum business, catapulting it into the nation’s fifth largest business conglomerate.
The late honorary chairman was born in Ulsan as the eldest son of a family with five sons and daughters.

At age of 20, he left for Japan to study with money provided by his cousin. Though he was admitted into the applied chemical department of Waseda University in Tokyo, he had to work as a newspaper deliveryman to make ends meet to continue his study.

The late Shin began his business by setting up a factory to produce a lubricant for machine tools in Japan, but he endured hard times since the plant was burnt down during World War II.

As he made a successful comeback in soap and cosmetics, the late Lotte founder ventured into the chewing gum business before he established the predecessor of Lotte Corp. in 1948.

The late Shin, once a literary enthusiast, loved the German novel, “The Sorrows of Young Werther,” by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The current brand Lotte was named after its heroine Sharlotte.

Lotte is short for Charlotte. The Lotte Founder rose to stardom as he expanded his business horizon to sectors such as chocolates, candies, biscuits, ice cream and beverage drinks.

As Korea’s rapprochement of ties with Japan paved the way for investing into Korea, thus he established Lotte Confectionery in 1967. Decades later, Lotte would become the nation’s biggest food maker, and would expand its business portfolio to fields such as tourism, distribution, chemical and construction.

He opened Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul, in 1973 and Lotte Shopping Center, the predecessor of the main outlet of Lotte Department Store, in 1979, finding a path for corporate growth that aligned perfectly with the growth of the national economy.

Lotte, venturing into areas such as chemicals and construction, moved from strength to strength to rise to the nation’s fifth largest conglomerate, with assets worth 100 trillion won.

The Lotte World Tower project, now the nation’s tallest skyscraper, was launched at the behest of the late founder Shin, who purchased a site in 1987, saying he wished to build the tallest landmark structure in Jamsil. The dream became reality 30 years later.

The late honorary chairman became the first business in the tourism sector to be honored with the Order of Industrial Service, Gold Tower.

His bereaved family includes Japanese wife Shigemitsu Hatsuko, second son Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-ju, eldest son Shin Dong-ju and Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong bin, Nongshim Chairman Shin Chun-ho, President Shin Sun-ho of Japanese noodle maker Sansasu Shoji., Chairman Shin Jun-ho of Purmill, and Vice Chairman Shin Jung-hee of Dongwha Duty Free are among the late Shin’s younger brothers and sisters.

Bereaved family members pay respect to the late Shin Kyuk-ho during the funeral ceremony for the Lotte Group founder at the Asan Medical Center (from the left of the front row of people facing the altar are Shin Dong-bin, chairman of the Lotte Group, Shin Joon-ho, chairman of Purmil, and Shin Dong-ju, former vice chairman of Lotte Holdings). (Photos: Lotte Group)