S. Korean ex-president sentenced to 17 years in jail

SEOUL－A South Korean appellate court on Wednesday sentenced former president Lee Myung-bak to 17 years' jail for corruption.

The Seoul High Court handed down the sentence on 78-year-old Lee, who had served as the country's head of state for five years from early 2008. It also fined him 13 billion won ($10.9 million).

The term was longer than that handed down by a lower court, which gave him 15 years behind bars. Prosecutors had demanded a 20-year term with a fine of 15 billion won.

The former president was convicted of embezzling funds worth tens of millions of US dollars from DAS, a big auto parts maker that is believed to be owned by Lee, even though the books used other names.

He was found guilty of receiving millions of dollars in bribes from Samsung Group, the country's biggest family controlled conglomerate.

The bribes were offered to pay legal fees for the auto parts company, which faced a lawsuit in the United States, in return for a presidential pardon for Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee.

Lee Myung-bak had earlier served a sentence on other counts of corruption. On March 22, 2018, he was taken into custody and was sentenced to 15 years behind bars by the Seoul High Court on October 5 that year. However, he was freed on bail in March 2019 due to health concerns.

Xinhua - Agencies