Ex-president files appeal against corruption verdict

By Kang Seung-woo

Former President Lee Myung-bak filed an appeal against a court ruling, Friday, that handed down a prison sentence for corruption a week earlier, his attorney said.

Former President Lee Myung-bak / Yonhap

Lee's decision was made public by his legal counsel Kang Hoon before he submitted a petition for appeal to the Seoul High Court.

“Former President Lee has decided to appeal his conviction,” Kang said in a text message sent to reporters.

On Sept. 5, Seoul Central District Court sentenced Lee, 76, to 15 years in jail for bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power, making him Korea's fourth former leader to be jailed. In addition, he was ordered to pay 13 billion won ($11.5 million) in fines and return 8.2 billion won.

In a criminal trial, the defendant has a week to appeal after a court verdict.

However, Lee's side did not lodge an appeal right after the court ruling last week, saying it would decide whether to do so near the deadline.

“A frustrated Lee sees an appeal as meaningless, but on the other hand, he also believes it is the right move for him to appeal the verdict, trusting the nation's judicial system,” Kang said, Monday, adding that Lee was likely to decide whether to appeal on Thursday after collecting opinions from his legal team.

However, the lawyer once again postponed the decision until Friday.

Lee, who served as president from 2008 to 2013, was arrested in March and indicted the following month. Prosecutors demanded 20 years in prison on 16 counts of charges, but the court convicted him of seven charges.

The court ruled that he embezzled 2.46 billion won from DAS, an auto parts company. It concluded, on the basis of testimony by Lee's close aides, that he was the de facto owner of the company, despite disguising it as his brother's company.

Lee had strongly denied alleged irregularities linked to him in the lead-up to the ruling, calling the testimony of DAS employees “a plot.”

The verdict taints Lee's long-established reputation as a self-made man who started off at the bottom and rose to the top post at one of the country's leading companies in only 11 years. He entered politics in 1992.

Meanwhile, the prosecution also lodged an appeal against the ruling, challenging the not guilty ruling on some of the charges against Lee.