Shin Young-ja, chair of the Lotte Foundation, died on the 21st. She was 85. She is the eldest daughter of the late Shin Kyuk-ho, founder of Lotte Group.
Chair Shin was promoted to president of Lotte Shopping in 2008 and led the department store and duty-free businesses. At the time, she focused on strengthening the department store brand's competitiveness and expanding the duty-free business, leading growth in the group's distribution division.
Afterward, Chair Shin stepped back from front-line management and concentrated on running the foundation. Since 2009, she has served as chair of the Lotte Samdong Foundation, the Lotte Scholarship Foundation, and the Lotte Welfare Foundation, continuing social contribution activities such as scholarship programs and welfare support. She is credited with broadening the scope of the foundations' work by focusing on education support and expanding welfare for vulnerable groups.
The mourning hall is at the funeral home of Severance Hospital in Sinchon, Seoul, and the funeral will be at 9:20 a.m. on the 23rd.