Lotte Group founder Shin Kyuk-ho died on 19 January 2020; he was 98. Lotte was founded in 1948 as a chewing gum maker in Japan by Shin, who moved to the neighbouring country when the Korean peninsula was under Japanese colonial rule. That's where he built the business into South Korea's No.5 conglomerate with interests ranging from snacks and beverages to supermarkets, department stores, hotels, theme parks and cinemas.