SEOUL – The Supreme Court of South Korea on Thursday upheld a 17-year prison term for former President Lee Myung-bak and ordered him sent back to prison.
Lee, who was president from 2008 to 2013, was expected to be taken to prison in a few days, making him the second former South Korean president behind bars on corruption charges. In October 2018, a Seoul district court sentenced Lee to 15 years in prison, convicting him of collecting 8.5 billion won ($7.5 million) in bribes from various sources – most of it from Samsung, the country’s largest business conglomerate – when he was a presidential candidate and after he took office.(The New York Times)