Lotte founder apologizes for family feud over group's control

Lotte Group founder Shin Kyuk-Ho has apologized over the ongoing family feud to win control over the group, vowing to recapture what he claims was usurped by his second son.

The power struggle within South Korea's No. 5 conglomerate, whose businesses range from confectionery to retail, has surfaced as Shin Dong-Bin, Shin's second and youngest son, took the helm of Lotte Holdings in Japan in a surprise move last month.

At a board of directors meeting, Dong-Bin sacked his father as general chairman of the Japanese holding company. The eldest son, Dong-Joo, was already dismissed from Lotte Holdings in January.

However, the senior Shin, sided with Dong-Joo, has denied Dong-bin's chairmanship of the group.

In a TV interview in Seoul on Sunday, the 93-year-old business tycoon asserted he had never named Dong-bin as the group's heir.