A top executive with the South Korean multinational corporation Lotte has been found dead on a walking path outside Seoul.  This was just a few hours before Lee In-won was to be questioned by prosecutors.

South Korea's Yonhap News Agency is reporting Mr. Lee's car was parked nearby and a suicide note was found inside.  The 69-year old's standing within the Lotte corporation was above and beyond his title of Vice Chairman, and observers believed him to be almost on par with the family of founder Shin Kyuk-ho (who goes by Takeo Shigemitsu in Japan, where Lotte was founded as a confectionery).  Lotte released a statement saying that  Lee In-won "oversaw Lotte Group's overall housekeeping and core businesses and accurately understood the minds of Chairman-in-Chief Shin Kyuk-ho and Chairman Shin Dong-bin to be carried out well in subsidiary companies".

But two months ago, prosecutors raided Lotte offices, reportedly looking into a allegations of a slush fund as well as breach of trust involving transactions among the group's companies.  The scandal had a profound impact on Lotte's bottom line:  Lotte Hotels had to withdraw from an initial public offering to raise up to 5.7 trillion won (US$5.12 billion), which would have made it the world's largest IPO this year.  Lotte Chemicals cancelled a multi-billion dollar bid for Axiall Chemicals, which went to a rival.