It would be great if the Korean government told him no on acquiring citizenship since he waited until he was old enough to avoid mandatory military service:
Shin Yoo-yeol, front row second from left, head of Lotte Corp.’s future growth office, listens to Lotte Innovate officials during CES 2024 in Las Vegas in this Jan. 10 file photo. Courtesy of Lotte Innovate
Speculation is growing that Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin’s oldest son, Shin Yoo-yeol, also known by his Japanese name, Satoshi Shigemitsu, may give up his Japanese citizenship this year to be naturalized as a Korean citizen, as he turned 38 years old on Saturday, according to industry officials, Sunday. At this age, one can acquire Korean citizenship regardless of the completion of military service.
The heir apparent, who currently assumes executive positions at Lotte’s holding company and its health care subsidiary, was born in London in 1986 and grew up in Tokyo. After joining Lotte in 2020, he has worked for his father’s company in Korea and Japan.
Due to his frequent attendance at the conglomerate’s important events recently, he has been expected to follow in the footsteps of his father, who gave up his Japanese citizenship at the age of 41 in 1996 to acquire Korean citizenship that year without completing military service. At that time, men younger than 40 were not allowed to be exempt from military service.
I am sure this guy will happily pay the fine considering he probably got a lot of social media attention and followers to pay for it:
Prosecutors have summarily indicted a British free climber on charges of ascending up to the 72nd floor of the tallest skyscraper in Seoul without permission last month, legal sources said Tuesday.
George King-Thompson, 24, was taken into custody while climbing up the outer wall of the 123-story Lotte World Tower in southern Seoul with his bare hands on June 12, before he was escorted inside the building and captured by police.
The Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors Office has summarily indicted him, seeking a punishment of 5 million won ($3,864) in fines for obstructing business.
Lotte to build #KoreanWar#Veterans Hall in Ethiopia, which sent 3,500 combat troops during the 1950-53 Korean War to help SK. It'll also establish a college fund for the vets' descendants. Lotte did the same in Thailand & Colombia, which also sent forces.https://t.co/3JADQechcW
Great to welcome Chairman Shin from Lotte Group to the WH. They just invested $3.1 BILLION into Louisiana-biggest investment in U.S. EVER from a South Korean company, & thousands more jobs for Americans. Great partners like ROK know the U.S. economy is running stronger than ever! pic.twitter.com/WaJxDeTuxj
A marathoner runs in a marathon event scaling the 123-story Lotte World Tower in southeastern Seoul on April 23, 2017. Participants raced up the 500-meter 2,917 stairs from the ground floor to the observatory on the top floor of the country’s tallest building. (Yonhap)
It looks like next week the deployment of the THAAD battery to South Korea will take one more step closer to becoming a reality with the reported transfer of the golf course owned by the Lotte Group to the ROK government:
This aerial photo taken on Oct. 27, 2016, shows the golf course in Seongju, 290 kilometers southeast of Seoul, that will host the U.S. missile shield system THAAD, short for Terminal High Altitude Area Defense. The golf course, owned by Lotte Group, was chosen as the final host site in late September.
The Thaad system, in the meanwhile, is set to be deployed in Korea by June at the earliest.
“After the Lotte Corporation holds a board meeting on Monday, it will likely sign a contract with the National Defense Ministry on Tuesday [to swap land for the Thaad deployment],” said a ministry official.
The two parties agreed in November to swap the Lotte Skyhill Seongju Country Club in Seongju County, North Gyeongsang, for government land in Namyangju, Gyeonggi. The Thaad system will be deployed at the former golf course. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
The long disclosed location for the THAAD site in South Korea is one step closer to becoming a reality:
South Korea’s defense ministry reached a tentative land-swap deal Wednesday with a major conglomerate to acquire the planned site for an advanced U.S. missile defense system aimed at countering the growing threat from North Korea.
The agreement brings Washington and Seoul a step closer to their goal of deploying the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, known as THAAD, next year.
The Ministry of National Defense said it agreed to give the Lotte Group, one of South Korea’s largest family-run conglomerates, state-owned military land near Seoul in exchange for the Lotte Skyhill Country Club in the southeastern Seongju area.
After appraisals of both sites, the board of directors of golf club’s operator, Lotte International, will meet to consider the deal, which will be adjusted if there’s a large gap in value, the ministry said in a statement. [Stars & Stripes]
This aerial photo taken on Oct. 27, 2016, shows the golf course in Seongju, 290 kilometers southeast of Seoul, that will host the U.S. missile shield system THAAD, short for Terminal High Altitude Area Defense. The golf course, owned by Lotte Group, was chosen as the final host site in late September. (Yonhap)
For anyone looking to get a round of golf in before the Lotte Sky Hill Golf Resort is turned into a military base the time to do it is now:
The South Korean military will launch negotiations with Lotte this week to buy a golf course in Seongju County in North Gyeongsang Province, which was announced as the final site to house Terminal High Altitude Area Defense(THAAD) interceptors.
The Ministry of National Defense said it hopes to deploy the U.S. missile shield system as swiftly as possible and is positively reviewing a plan to swap a golf course it owns in Gyeonggi Province with Lotte’s facility.
The golf course in Seongju sits on land spanning one-point-78 million square kilometers, including 820-thousand square kilometers of forest, and the ministry plans to purchase the whole property.
Lotte Skyhill Seongju Country Club, which operates the grounds, issued a statement immediately after the announcement of the new THAAD site last Friday, saying it will positively consider the government’s decision given the gravity of the current national security situation.
It was made known that Lotte will continue the operation of the golf course while it is holding negotiations with the Defense Ministry. [KBS World Radio]
