Senior executive of South Korea's Lotte Group has died - Lotte official

SEOUL (Reuters) - A senior executive of South Korea's Lotte Group has died, an official at the country's fifth-largest family-run conglomerate told Reuters on Friday, amid a sweeping criminal probe into the business.

The official, who declined to be named as he was not authorised to speak publicly on the matter, said a police investigation into the death of Lee In-won, a Lotte Group Vice Chairman, was underway. He did not elaborate.

Yonhap News Agency, citing unnamed sources, reported a body believed to be Lee's was found on a walking path outside Seoul on Friday morning. Police were conducting an investigation to confirm whether the body was Lee's, Yonhap said, adding that a suicide note was found in the executive's car.

(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and , Nataly Pak; Writing by Se Young Lee; Editing by Stephen Coates)