Lotte Shin Kyuk-ho's Nephew Loses Second Trial in 10 Billion Won Housing Lawsuit

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The nephew of the late Shin Kyuk-ho, Honorary Chairman of Lotte Group, has once again lost a lawsuit against his siblings over the payment for a house worth around 10 billion won.

On the 25th, the Civil Division 35-3 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges Park Hyesun, Im Youngwoo, Chae Dongsu) ruled against Ms. A, the daughter of the late Shin Soha, Shin Kyuk-ho’s younger sister, in a lawsuit filed by Ms. A against her older brother seeking inheritance recovery.

According to Ms. A’s claim, her mother Shin Soha purchased the house with financial support from her older brother, Honorary Chairman Shin. However, after her mother passed away, the older brother sold the house for 10 billion won but did not distribute the proceeds to the heirs. Ms. A filed a lawsuit demanding payment of 2 billion won, which is one-fifth of the proceeds.

However, the first trial court found no grounds to recognize Ms. A’s claim other than the family relationship and the fact of the house sale. Dissatisfied with the ruling, Ms. A appealed, alleging that her older brother and Shin Youngja, the director of the Lotte Welfare Foundation and sister of Honorary Chairman Shin, conspired to sell the house despite knowing it was held in a nominee trust, demanding compensation of about 1.45 billion won. The second trial court also ruled against her, stating, "It is difficult to acknowledge the existence of a nominee trust agreement based solely on the submitted evidence."

Meanwhile, Ms. A previously filed a lawsuit against her family in 2014 over tens of billions of won in condolence money received at her mother’s funeral but was ultimately defeated by the Supreme Court.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.