Shin Dong-bin Likely to Visit Japan to Pay Respects to Former Prime Minister Abe

Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of Lotte Group.

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of Lotte Group, is expected to visit Japan to pay his respects to former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who passed away on the 8th.

According to business circles on the 11th, Chairman Shin is known to be visiting Japan soon to console the family of former Prime Minister Abe.

The exact timing of the visit has not been disclosed.

In Japan, a family funeral will be held on the 12th, followed by a state funeral hosted jointly by the Japanese government and the Liberal Democratic Party, with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida serving as the funeral committee chairman.

Chairman Shin and Prime Minister Abe are known to have maintained a long-standing friendship between their families. Shin Dong-bin’s father, Shin Kyuk-ho, the founder of Lotte, built relationships in the 1950s and 60s with Abe’s father, former Foreign Minister Shintaro Abe, and his maternal grandfather, former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi.

Because of this, Chairman Shin and Abe have known each other for a long time. Abe was born in 1954 and Shin in 1955, making them just one year apart in age, effectively the same age. In 2015, former Prime Minister Abe personally attended the wedding of Shin Dong-bin’s son, Yoo-yeol, held in Tokyo, Japan.

In addition, at Lotte Group, Vice Chairman Song Yong-duk and other vice chairmen are scheduled to visit the memorial altar for former Prime Minister Abe set up at the Public Affairs and Cultural Center of the Embassy of Japan in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 12th to pay their respects.

Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Abe was shot and collapsed while campaigning for an election in Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan, on the 8th. He was transported to a hospital for treatment but passed away.

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