Republic of South Koreas High Court has upheld a 17-year jail term imposed on ex-President, Lee Myung-bak, for many crimes committed in a recent final ruling that will take him back to prison.
Lee was convicted of collecting bribes worth millions of dollars from blue-chip companies like Samsung, diverting corporate funds of his company and misappropriating South Korea Spy Agency’s official funds. The crimes took place before and during his tenure as the President of South Korea.
Also, the Supreme Court confirmed the ruling of a lower court that ordered Lee to remit 13 billion won ($10.9 million) fine and part with another 5.78 billion won ($4.6 million) for his crimes. According to court officials, the recent ruling is final and cannot be appealed.
Lee was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2018 and was bailed out of jail many months later. He was taken back into custody in February after an appellate court handed down a 17-year term and deactivated his bail. Six days later, he was released again after he appealed the ruling on his bail cancellation.
According to Supreme Court, Lee was expected to return to prison after the ruling.
Lee was South Koreas first President with business background and he once symbolized the economic rise of South Korea. He started his business career with an entry-level position at the construction arm of Hyundai Groups in the mid-1960s before rising to CEO of 10 companies under Hyundai Group and spearheaded the group’s geometric rise at a time when the economy of South Korea grew astronomically after the Korean War.
Lee’s corruption case sprang up after his successor and fellow conservative Park Geun-hye was overthrown and sent to jail in respect of a separate 2016-17 scandal.
