Former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak sentenced to 17 years for corruption
Xinhua News Agency, Seoul, October 29 (Reporter Geng Xuepeng and Lu Rui) The South Korean Supreme Court (Supreme Court) sentenced former President Lee Myung-bak to 17 years in prison on the 29th for corruption and bribery.
The Supreme Court of South Korea upheld the second-instance judgment in the final instance.
In addition to the sentence of 17 years in prison, the court also sentenced Li Mingbo to a fine of 13 billion won (approximately 76.7 million yuan) and recovered 5.78 billion won (approximately 34.1 million yuan) of criminal proceeds.
According to South Korean media reports, the South Korean Supreme Court also upheld the previous decision to cancel Lee Myung-bak’s bail qualification.
It is expected that Li Mingbo will be in jail in a few days.
In April 2018, South Korean prosecutors sued Lee Myung-bak for corruption and bribery, abuse of power, and tax evasion.
In October of the same year, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Lee Myung-bak to 15 years in prison and fined 13 billion won.
Li Mingbo refused to accept the judgment and filed an appeal.
In February 2020, the second instance of the Seoul High Court sentenced Lee Myung-bak to 17 years in prison.
As the amount involved in the case increased compared with the first instance, the sentence of the second instance also increased accordingly.
Lee Myung-bak was born in 1941 and served as South Korean President from 2008 to 2013. He is the fourth South Korean former president to be criminally convicted after Chun Doo-hwan, Roh Tae-woo, and Park Geun-hye.