Former South Korean president gets 15-year term for corruption

FILE: Former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak arrives for questioning over bribery allegations at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seoul, South Korea. (Associated Press)

A South Korean court has sentenced former President Lee Myung-bak to 15 years in prison over a slew of corruption charges.

The Seoul Central District Court issued the sentence on Friday after convicting Lee of bribery, embezzlement and other charges.

Lee, who has denied most of the charges leveled on him, has one week to appeal.

Lee, who served as president from 2008-2013, has been held at a detention center in Seoul since his arrest in March.

His conviction is yet another blow to conservatives in South Korea. His conservative successor Park Geun-hye is serving a 33-year prison term over a separate corruption scandal.

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