Ex-DPK deputy secretary given 4 1/2-year prison term over bribery charges

Lee Jung-geun, a former deputy secretary general of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea in this Sept. 30, 2022 file photo. Newsis

A former deputy secretary general of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) was sentenced to four years and six months in prison Wednesday on charges of receiving more than 1 billion won ($754,660) in bribes and illegal political funds from a businessman.

Lee Jung-geun, the former deputy secretary general, was charged with pocketing 940 million won worth of money and luxury goods from a businessperson, surnamed Park, between December 2019 and January last year in exchange for promises to lobby government officials and public institutions for business favors.

She was also accused of taking illegal political funds from Park in early 2020 while a parliamentary election was under way.

The Seoul Central District Court on Wednesday also ordered a forfeiture of 980 million won and five luxury goods from Lee, delivering the prison sentence.

The sentence was heavier than the three-year prison term prosecutors had sought for Lee. (Yonhap)