Shin Kyuk-ho

Shin Kyuk-ho was a South Korean businessman who founded Lotte Corporation, one of the largest chaebols in South Korea. He was born in Ulsan, Korea in 1921 and moved to Japan in 1941, where he studied chemical engineering at Waseda Jitsugyo High School. He adopted the Japanese name Takeo Shigemitsu and started his business career by making rice cookers, soap and facial creams. He later established Lotte as a confectionery company, naming it after the heroine of Goethe's novel The Sorrows of Young Werther. He expanded Lotte to South Korea in 1967 and grew it into a diversified conglomerate with interests in retail, hotels, entertainment, construction and more. He was known for his lifelong desire to contribute to his homeland, South Korea, and his dream of building the Lotte World Tower, the tallest building in the country, was realized in 2016. He was also involved in philanthropic activities, such as donating to cultural and educational causes. Shin Kyuk-ho faced several challenges and controversies in his later years, including a family feud over succession, allegations and convictions of corruption, and public criticism of the chaebol system. He retired from his role as board director of Lotte Holdings Co. in 2017 and died in 2020 at the age of 98. He was survived by his four children and his common-law wife Seo Mi-kyung. He was widely regarded as a pioneer and a visionary who helped shape the South Korean economy and society.