Former president's nephew given suspended jail term for illegal real estate deal

SEOUL, Sept. 17 (Yonhap) -- An appellate court on Thursday sentenced a nephew of
former President Roh Tae-woo to a suspended three-year prison term for selling
property to avoid state confiscation.

Roh had given some 12 billion won (US$9.96 million) to his younger brother
Jae-woo in 1997 just before a court ordered the former leader to return some 263
billion won he amassed in a slush fund. The younger Roh then used the funds to
purchase real estate for a cold storage company.
Roh Ho-jun, Jae-woo's son and the owner of the company, was indicted on charges
of selling the property to a retail company he owns at a below-market price to
again avoid the court-ordered seizure.
A lower court had found him guilty of breach of trust and sentenced him to three
years in prison.
"As he should be convicted of illegal transactions as ordered by a lower court,
this court suspends the imprisonment for five years, considering that he did not
inflict any actual losses through the transaction," the Seoul High Court said in
a ruling.
Roh Tae-woo, who retired after serving as president from 1988-1993, is involved
in a separate ongoing suit with his brother and nephew over ownership of the
storage company.
The 76-year-old former leader was admitted to a hospital in Seoul on Wednesday
after showing symptoms of a cold.
brk@yna.co.kr
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