First lady's cousin sentenced to 3 years in jail for taking bribes

SEOUL, April 23 (Yonhap) -- The Supreme Court on Thursday sentenced a cousin of
South Korean first lady, Kim Yoon-ok, to a three-year jail term for taking
billions of won in bribes, upholding a lower court's ruling.
Kim Ok-hee, 75, had promised candidacies in elections and jobs at state-run
businesses in exchange for the bribes. She was also ordered to pay nearly 3.2
billion won (US$2.3 million) in fines.
Kim was arrested in August on charges of receiving over 3 billion won from the
head of the Seoul Metropolitan Bus Transportation Union, Kim Jong-won, in
exchange for his nomination as a candidate for parliamentary election on the
ruling Grand National Party's ticket.
Kim Jong-won was sentenced to a one-year prison term for offering bribes. He did
not get the party nomination.
Two years of the three-year prison sentence result from the election law
violation, the court said. A year was added for another bribery case, in which
she received 200 million won after promising jobs at state-run institutions.
brk@yna.co.kr
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