SEOUL, Oct. 5 -- Former South Korean president Lee Myung-bak was sentenced Friday to 15 years in jail over a set of corruptions, including bribery and embezzlement.
The Seoul Central District Court sentenced Lee, who served as the country's head of state for five years from early 2008, to 15 years in prison, fining him 13 billion won (11.5 million U.S. dollars).
The sentencing session was live broadcast though the 76-year-old refused to appear at the courtroom.
Prosecutors demanded a 20-year imprisonment, with the fine of 15 billion won (13.3 million U.S. dollars).
The ruling said Lee concealed his ownership of DAS, a lucrative auto parts maker, under the borrowed names from relatives and embezzled about 24.5 billion (21.7 million U.S. dollars) from the South Korean company.
Lee was convicted of collecting 6.8 billion won (6 million U.S. dollars) in bribes from Samsung Group, the country's biggest family-controlled conglomerate.
The bribe was offered to pay lawyer fees for the auto parts maker, which faced a legal case in the United States, in return for Lee's presidential pardon to Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee.
The former president was also found guilty of receiving millions of U.S. dollars from former spy agency chief, a lawmaker and a businessman.
Lee was taken to a prison in March as he has been long dogged by allegations of corruptions.
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