TV shopping company Lotte Home Shopping, which is currently under investigation for bribery, spent nearly 3.3 billion won ($2.83 million) on lobbying fees last year, according to a corporate information tracking website.

According to Chaebul.com, that was the largest sum spent on lobbying by the company since 2008, surpassing the 2.9 billion won spent in 2014 when the company was preparing to receive an extension on its home shopping license.

In total, the money spent in 2014 and 2015 make up half of the lobbying funds spent since 2008.

In all, Lotte companies have spent 203.5 billion won on lobbying funds since 2008.

Chaebul.com said it had analyzed Lotte’s financial disclosures between 2008 and 2015.

Local media reported on Wednesday that prosecutors have acquired a testimony claiming that Lotte Home Shopping CEO Kang Hyun-gu had instructed employees to create a slush fund for lobbying purposes ahead of the license renewal.

Prosecutors are currently trying to determine who received those lobbying funds, focusing on those who had influence over granting Lotte Home Shopping an extended license.

This is not the first time that Lotte Home Shopping has come under scrutiny. In 2014, 10 employees from the company were charged for accepting kickbacks from companies selling products on the company’s channel and for embezzling company funds.

The charges against Lotte Home Shopping are a small part of the prosecutors’ investigation of the entire Lotte Group for embezzlement. The investigation has progressed rapidly, with members of the group’s founding Shin family involved. 

On Wednesday morning, Shin Young-ja, the eldest daughter of Lotte founder Shin Kyuk-ho and the chairperson of the Lotte Foundation, appeared in court for a hearing judging the merits of her arrest warrant.

Shin Young-ja is accused of receiving more than 3 billion won in kickbacks from cosmetics company Nature Republic in exchange for business favors, and embezzling 4 billion won through a company owned by her son.

Prosecutors on Monday requested a warrant for her arrest, saying that it was necessary to take her into custody to prevent further destruction of evidence.

Local reports say that Shin Young-ja began wailing while testifying on her own behalf, claiming that she had been wronged.

The court is expected to rule on the issuance of the warrant Wednesday night.

If the warrant is issued, Shin Young-ja will be the first member of the Shin family to be under arrest.

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)