Lotte Founder to Be Checked for Senile Dementia

Lotte Group founder Shin Kyuk-ho will be spending a couple of weeks in hospital this month to check his mental faculties and determine whether he needs a legal guardian.

The nonagenarian is embroiled in an unsightly power struggle pitting his two sons against one another.

The Seoul Family Court will decide next Wednesday on the details for the examination including where and how to conduct it.

Shin senior is aligned with his first son Dong-joo, chairman of SDJ Corporation, but board and management have endorsed his second son Dong-bin for the chairmanship of Lotte Group.

Naturally the two sons do not agree which hospital should assess their father. Shin Dong-joo reportedly favors Seoul National University Hospital and Dong-bin Samsung Medical Center.