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Prosecutors
charged Shin without detaining him.
The retail giant Lotte, with interests ranging from hotels and
retail to food and chemicals, becomes the second conglomerate
mired in the political scandal after Jay Y. Lee, the chief of
the biggest, Samsung Group, was arrested suspected of bribing
Park and her friend, Choi Soon-sil.
Lee, Park and Choi are being held at detention centers.
Lotte, South Korea's fifth-biggest conglomerate, is grappling
with the Chinese shutdown of dozens of its stores in China,
after it agreed to provide land for the U.S. Terminal High
Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system outside Seoul.
South Korea, which accuses China or discriminating against some
South Korean companies working in China, and the United States
say the sole purpose of THAAD is to guard against North Korean
missiles. China says its powerful radar can penetrate its
territory and undermine its security and spoke out against it
again on Monday.
Lotte's chief Shin is also on a separate graft trial involving
family members charged with embezzlement and breach of trust.
Prosecutors accused Park of colluding with Choi to receive 7
billion won ($6.16 million) from Lotte for favors, they said in
a statement. Park was also charged with abuse of power and
coercion by pressuring big businesses to contribute funds to
non-profit foundations, the prosecutors said.
Park is also charged with taking bribes worth about 29.8 billion
won from Samsung scion Lee in exchange for supporting his
succession, according to the prosecutors' statement.
Lotte denied allegations that it made improper deals with Park,
or those linked to her, for favors, but said it would explain
itself at court to resolve suspicions.
"We find the decision on the indictment regrettable," Lotte
Group said in a statement.
Park, Lee, Choi and Samsung Group have also denied
wrongdoing.($1 = 1,136.3700 won)
(Reporting by Ju-min Park and Christine Kim, additional
reporting by Joyce Lee,; Editing by Nick Macfie)
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