Lotte chairman offers to resign

SEOUL: The head of South Korea´s Lotte Group has offered to quit as chairman at Japan-based holding firm Lotte Holdings, following his arrest for bribery earlier this month, cable news network YTN said on Wednesday.

The report comes as Lotte Holdings plans to hold a board meeting later Wednesday which is expected to discuss Chairman Shin Dong-bin´s situation.

Lotte Holdings is at the heart of Lotte Group´s complicated ownership structure and indirectly controls the group´s South Korean-based holding company Lotte Corp.

Lotte Holdings is a top shareholder of Lotte Hotel and Lotte Chemical, both of which own major stakes in Lotte Aluminum, which in turn is the largest shareholder of Lotte Corp.

Shin´s resignation could reignite a family dispute at the conglomerate, South Korea´s fifth-largest business group, and slow its efforts to streamline.

In 2016, Shin´s older brother sought to remove him from the board of Lotte Holdings, which was rejected by its shareholders.