The Seoul Central District Court found Lee guilty of embezzlement of about 24.6 billion won from a private auto parts maker headed by his brother, and accepting bribes from Samsung and others. — AFP pic

SEOUL, Oct 5 — A Seoul court today jailed former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak for 15 years for corruption, making him the latest in a string of high-profile political and business leaders ensnared by graft charges.

Lee, in office from 2008 to 2013, is the fourth former South Korean president to be jailed, with his successor Park Geun-hye imprisoned for her role in a separate corruption scandal that toppled her from power in early 2017 and also led to jail time for Samsung Group heir Jay Y. Lee.

Lee Myung-bak faced charges that he accepted around US$10 million (RM41.4 million) in illegal funds from institutions like Samsung and his own intelligence service, fuelling ongoing concerns over the cosy ties between government and business leaders.

The Seoul Central District Court found Lee guilty of embezzlement of about 24.6 billion won from a private auto parts maker headed by his brother, and accepting bribes from Samsung and others, fining Lee 13 billion won in addition to the jail sentence.

“Such actions from the president, the head of state and the leader of the executive branch, can be severely condemned as it does not stop at violating the fairness and integrity of the presidential office but undermines trust in the entire public office,” judge Chung Kye-sun said.

Lee, 76, has denied any wrongdoing, saying the investigation that led to the trial was politically motivated “revenge” by current President Moon Jae-in, who came to office vowing to clean house after the Park scandal and who has previously criticised Lee over an investigation into another former president, Roh Moo-hyun.

Moon served as Roh’s chief of staff, and the two liberal leaders had a close relationship before Roh committed suicide in 2009 after being questioned on corruption allegations during Lee’s presidency.

Lee was not in attendance at the verdict, which was televised live. Prosecutors had sought a 20-year sentence for Lee. — Reuters</s>A court in South Korea on Friday sentenced former President Lee Myung-bak to 15 years in prison after finding him guilty on various charges of corruption, AP reported. The court also ordered him to pay 13 billion won (Rs 84.6 crore) as penalty. He has denied most charges and has one week to appeal.

Lee, a former businessman, was the president between 2008 and 2013. He was indicted on various charges in April, after being accused of accepting 11 billion won (Rs 71.6 crore now) in bribes between 2007 and 2012, including a bribe for a presidential pardon in 2009 for Samsung Group’s chairman convicted of tax evasion. Lee is also accused of embezzling 35 billion won between 1994 and 2006.

The Seoul Central District Court convicted him of bribery and embezzlement, among other charges. He had been held at a detention center in Seoul since his arrest in March. He had called the investigation “political revenge”.

All four living former presidents of South Korea have now been charged for or convicted of criminal offences. In April, the country’s first woman leader, Park Geun-hye, was convicted and sent to 24 years in prison for abuse of power, corruption and bribery. She was sentenced to nine more years in other convictions later.</s>Seoul — A South Korean court has sentenced former president Lee Myung-bak to 15 years in jail for taking bribes from Korean conglomerates while in office, becoming the country’s fourth head of state to be convicted on corruption charges in as many decades.

The sentence handed down by a panel of three judges at the Seoul central district court was more lenient than the 20 years sought by prosecutors who charged Lee with bribery, abuse of power and embezzlement. Lee, who has denied the charges, can appeal to a higher court.

Lee was president of Asia’s fourth-largest economy from 2008 to 2013. His conviction follows that of former president Park Geun-hye, who was impeached last year and in April was sentenced to 24 years in jail after being found guilty of bribery, abuse of power and leaking of state secrets.

Former heads of state Chun Doo-hwan, president from 1980 to 1988, and Roh Tae-woo, president from 1988 to 1993 respectively, were also convicted of corruption, among other charges. Both were later pardoned.

The corruption charges against Lee stemmed from a probe of his brother’s automotive parts company, which prosecutors alleged Lee used as a way to enrich himself while in office. Prosecutors alleged Lee embezzled about 35-billion won ($31m) from the automotive parts company, according to Yonhap News.

Lee was elected into office after gaining popularity as a self-made man amid the country’s surging economic growth after the Korean War. He spent years as a street vendor before entering a prestigious college in Seoul. Later he joined Hyundai Engineering & Construction, where he rose to become its CEO.

His early years as president were tainted by the global financial crisis and massive street protests over his agreement to allow imports of American beef.

Lee, who refused to attend the trial, accused prosecutors of carrying out political revenge on behalf of current President Moon Jae-in’s liberal government. Lee said just before his arrest in March that he hoped “this is the last time in history” that a former president is victimised.</s>A South Korean court has sentenced ex-President Lee Myung-bak to 15 years in prison over corruption scandal.</s>Lee Myung-bak is found guilty on charges including bribery and embezzlement and ordered to pay a fine of 13 billion won by the Seoul Central District Court

SEOUL, South Korea – Former South Korean president Lee Myung-bak was jailed for 15 years for corruption Friday, October 5, becoming the latest of the country's ex-leaders to be sent to prison.

The 76-year-old CEO-turned-president, who served from 2008 to 2013, was found guilty on charges including bribery and embezzlement and ordered to pay a fine of 13 billion won ($11.5 million) by the Seoul Central District Court.

"Bringing everything into consideration, heavy punishment for the accused is inevitable," said a judge during the trial that was live televised.

Lee was not in attendance, citing ill-health.

The former South Korean leader was indicted in April on 16 charges that included bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power.

The court found that Lee was the de-facto owner of DAS – a controversial auto parts company which he claimed was his brother's – which he used to create slush funds of around 24 billion won.

Lee was also found guilty of accepting nearly 6 billion won from Samsung Electronics in return for a presidential pardon for its chairman Lee Kun-hee, who was jailed for tax evasion.

Both Samsung and Lee have denied any wrongdoing. – Rappler.com</s>Former South Korean president Lee Myung-bak was on Friday sentenced to 15 years in prison over multiple corruption charges including bribery, abuse of power, embezzlement, and tax evasion.

According to The Korea Herald report, Lee has also been fined 13 billion won ($11.5 million) and the forfeiture of 8.27 billion won by the Seoul Central District Court.

Prosecutors had demanded 20 years in jail, a 15 billion won fine and the forfeiture of 11.1 billion won against Lee, the report said.

“As a president who was given great authority from the people, he had the responsibility to use his power according to the Constitution and for the people,” the court was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

 “But from the trials we found that Lee had embezzled some 24.6 billion won via DAS over a long period of time. Considering that he was serving as a lawmaker and Seoul mayor during the period, his misconduct should be taken seriously,” the court added.

Lee was not present at the hearing claiming poor health conditions.

The 76-year-old former CEO-turned president served South Korea from 2008 to 2013.

Lee has been charged with accepting a total of some 11 billion won (USD 10.2 million) in bribes between late 2007 when he was elected president and 2012, according to prosecutor documents.

These allegations include claims that the Samsung Group bought a presidential pardon in 2009 for its chairman Lee Kun-hee, who had been convicted of tax evasion and given a suspended jail sentence.

Samsung allegedly paid six billion won (USD 5.6 million) in legal fees to a US law firm on Lee’s behalf.

The firm was representing DAS, an auto parts company which prosecutors claim Lee owns in his relatives’ names, which was involved in a costly court battle with a US businessman at the time.

Lee has repeatedly denied that he owned DAS, saying the auto parts company belongs to his brother.

The court confirmed that the former president received the kickback from Samsung. However, the court dismissed the prosecution’s charge that Lee violated the act on the management of presidential archives.

Lee has been detained since March 23 at the Seoul Dongbu Detention Center.

With this case, all four former South Korean presidents who are still alive have been charged or convicted for criminal offences.</s>Seoul: A South Korean court on Friday sentenced former President Lee Myung-bak to 15 years in jail and fined him 13 billion won ($11 million) on multiple corruption charges, making him the fourth former leader to be criminally convicted.

In the live televised trial, the Seoul court ruled Lee, 76, is the de facto owner of his brother’s company, DAS, which is at the centre of the the scandal, reports Yonhap News Agency. The court said he told DAS officials to create slush funds and are responsible for a range of irregularities involving the company. Lee has long been suspected of being its real owner.

Lee, President from 2008-2013, was indicted in April on 16 counts that include bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power. Prosecutors had demanded 20 years in prison for Lee. Of the 35 billion won prosecutors alleged Lee had embezzled, the court only acknowledged 24 billion won, citing a lack of evidence. Lee was not present at Friday’s hearing in protest at the court’s decision to allow live TV coverage of the hearing.</s>By The Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean court has sentenced ex-President Lee Myung-bak to 15 years in prison over corruption scandal.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean court has sentenced ex-President Lee Myung-bak to 15 years in prison over corruption scandal.

Copyright © 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.</s>Former S. Korean President Lee Myung-bak sentenced to 15 years for corruption

A Seoul court Friday found former President Lee Myung-bak guilty of corruption and handed down a 15-year jail sentence on him, who thus became the fourth ex-South Korean leader to be criminally convicted.

The 76-year-old former leader was found guilty of bribery, embezzlement and other charges and was ordered to pay 13 billion won (US$11.5 million) in fines and forfeit 8.2 billion won.

Lee, president from 2008-2013, was arrested on March 22 and indicted on April 9. Prosecutors demanded 20 years in prison on 16 counts but was convicted of just seven charges.

The court ruled that he embezzled 2.46 billion won from DAS, an auto parts company at the center of the scandal. It concluded, on the basis of testimony by Lee's close aides, that he is the de facto owner of the company, disguising it as his brother's company. Lee denied the allegation he was the real owner of the company.

The court also ruled he accepted 5.9 billion won in bribes from Samsung Electronics Co. in the form of retaining fees for DAS. Samsung paid the money seeking a presidential pardon for Chairman Lee Kun-hee, who was jailed for tax evasion, it said.

Lee was also found guilty of receiving about 2.4 billion won in bribes from a financial company chief, a former intelligence agency chief and a former lawmaker.

The court said he caused a 400 million won loss to the state by receiving inappropriate money from the state intelligence agency's special activities fund. But the court did not recognize it as bribery.

Lee's lawyer said he will appeal the ruling. Lee did not attend the hearing in protest against the live broadcast as he insisted the trial was a political retaliation by administration of President Moon Jae-in over the death of late former President Roh Moo-hyun. Roh killed himself in 2009 while under a prosecution investigation into corruption allegations. Moon served as Roh's chief of staff.

The scandal has tainted Lee's long-established image of a self-made man who started off as a salaryman and rose to the top post at one of the country's leading companies in only 11 years. He entered politics in 1992.

His successor, Park Geun-hye, is serving 33 years behind bars pending a top court decision over a string of corruption charges that led to her ousting last year.

Former Presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo were convicted of corruption and other charges until they were pardoned by former President Kim Young-sam.</s>Just six months after Park Geun-hye was convicted on charges of corruption and abuse of power and sentenced to 25 years in prison, her predecessor, former President Lee Myung-bak has similarly been convicted on charges of bribery and embezzlement. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Friday.

The Seoul Central District Court convicted Lee of taking 6.1 billion won ($5.4 million) in bribes from Samsung, embezzling 24.6 billion won ($21.7 million) from a company he owned called DAS, and “causing losses to state coffers.” In addition to prison time, the court also fined Lee 13 billion won ($11.5 million).

Lee has denied “most” of the allegations, reports the Associated Press, and did not attend the hearing, citing both his health and the court’s decision to broadcast the session on national television. Lee has a week to appeal the ruling.

Park and Lee are not the only former leaders of South Korea who have been implicated in corruption scandals. Roh Moo-hyun jumped to his death in 2009 as his family was being investigated for corruption, and all three of Kim Dae-jung’s sons were arrested or involved in scandals during his presidency, leading the Nobel Peace Prize winner to issue an apology at the end of his term.

Moon Jae-in, South Korea’s current president, won the presidency in May of last year on promises to address the rampant corruption between politicians and businessman.
Lee Myung-bak is sentenced to 15 years in jail and US$20 million in fines and forfeiture, on charges of bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power. All four living former Presidents of South Korea now have been convicted.