Roh’s Brother Gets Two and Half Years in Jail

An appellate court Wednesday sentenced the elder brother of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun to two and half years in prison and to pay a 300 million won (US$250,000) restitution for graft and influence peddling.

A lower court had sentenced Roh Gun-pyeong to a four-year jail term and to forfeit 570 million won.

The elder Roh was indicted on charges of receiving billions of won in return for wielding influence in helping a state-run company take over an ailing brokerage firm in 2006.

Roh Moo-hyun committed suicide at his home in May this year in the midst of a separate bribery investigation into his family and close aides. He served as president from 2003-2008.

"This a classic bribery scandal related to power in which the then president's elder brother exercised his influence on government officials and received a huge sum of money in return from the company," the Seoul High Court was quoted as saying in a ruling. "In this case, Roh Gun-pyeong is the key figure and should take heavy responsibility for it."

The court, however, acknowledged that he was given a heavier sentence because he was the former president's brother and reduced the prison term.