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SEOUL (Reuters) – A Seoul court on Friday sentenced 15 years in prison for corruption, former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, becoming the latest in a series of political and political leaders. leading companies, trapped in corruption charges.
Former South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak is appearing for his first trial in Seoul Central District Court on May 23, 2018 in Seoul, South Korea. Chung Sung-Jun / Pool via Reuters
Lee, who occupies his post from 2008 to 2013, is the fourth former South Korean president to be jailed. His successor, Park Geun-hye, was jailed for his role in another corruption scandal that overthrew him in early 2017 and also resulted in a jail sentence. for the Samsung group, the heir Jay Y. Lee.
Lee Myung-bak has been accused of accepting about $ 10 million in illegal funds from institutions such as Samsung and his own intelligence service, fueling lingering concerns about the close ties between the government and the government. business leaders.
The Seoul Central District Court found Lee guilty of embezzling funds of about 24.6 billion won ($ 21.77 million) from a private auto parts manufacturer headed by his brother and to have accepted bribes from Samsung and other people, inflicting Lee a fine of 13 billion won, in addition to jail time.
"Such actions by the president, the head of state and the executive may be severely condemned because they are not limited to violating the fairness and integrity of the function. presidential elections, but undermine confidence in the entire civil service, "said Judge Chung. Said Kye-sun.
Lee, 76, denied any wrongdoing, saying the investigation that led to the trial was a political "revenge" motivated by current president Moon Jae-in, sworn to clean up after the Park scandal and who had previously criticized Lee for investigating another former president, Roh Moo-hyun.
Moon was the chief of staff of Roh. The two Liberal leaders had close relations before Roh's suicide in 2009 after being questioned about allegations of corruption under Lee's presidency.
Lee was not present at the verdict, which was televised live. Prosecutors had asked Lee for a 20-year sentence.
($ 1 = 1,130,1900 won)
Report by Joyce Lee; Edited by Clarence Fernandez and Michael Perry
