Court rejects appeal from former president`s family

Former President Chun Doo-hwan’s son, Jae-yong, who was indicted for allegations of tax evasion was sentenced to parole in his appeal along with Lee Chang-seok, the former president`s brother-in-law.

The Seoul High Court on Thursday issued a sentence of three years in prison, four years of parole and a penalty of 3.78 million dollars to Chun, who was indicted without physical detention for evading 2.55 million dollars in selling land in Gyeonggi Province. Lee, who was indicted on the same allegations, was sentenced two years, six months in prison, four years of parole, and a penalty of 3.78 million dollars. They are the same as in the first sentence.

The court said despite the accused having sold wooded land at 42 million dollars, they prepared a fake agreement claiming to have sold the fields and trees at 22 million dollars and 11 million dollars, respectively. According to the court, although they knew it was tax evasion, they deliberately committed fraud. The court rejected the appeal by the two accused and the prosecution, saying, "The sentence has been adjusted as the half of the evaded amount was consigned for payment, and their assets have been seized, making additional payoff by the accused possible."