This article was published on March 4, 2025, at 1:50 p.m. on the ChosunBiz RM Report site.
The Fair Trade Commission has launched a field investigation into LOTTE Home Shopping (corporate name Woori Home Shopping), LOTTE Corporation, and LOTTE Wellfood. This is understood to be an investigation into allegations of 'unfair support' among subsidiaries of the LOTTE Group.
According to industry sources on the 4th, the Fair Trade Commission dispatched researchers to the headquarters of LOTTE Home Shopping, LOTTE Corporation, and LOTTE Wellfood that day to secure relevant materials. The investigation targets whether advantageous conditions were applied in transactions among LOTTE affiliates compared to non-affiliates. This could be deemed an illegal act that hinders fair market competition under the Fair Trade Act due to 'unjust support practices.' There are indications in the industry that the scope of the investigation may be expanded to encompass the entire group.
Industry sources believe that this investigation is related to the 'LOTTE Home Shopping-LOTTE Corporation unfair support suspicion' reported to the Fair Trade Commission by Taekwang Industrial in 2023. Taekwang Industrial, which is the second-largest shareholder of LOTTE Home Shopping, claimed at the time that LOTTE Home Shopping provided unjust economic benefits to the group by purchasing the building in Yangpyeong-dong, Seoul, from LOTTE Corporation and LOTTE Wellfood for 2.039 billion won. It was stated that unnecessary assets were purchased at a high price due to liquidity support at the group level.
A Fair Trade Commission official noted, 'We cannot confirm the progress of the investigation or specific details, but if any legal violations are found, we will take strict measures.'