Choi See-joong, the country’s former communications chief and one of the closest confidants of President Lee Myung-bak, was sentenced Friday to a two-and-a-half year term in prison and 600 million won ($536,834) in fines for accepting bribes from a local construction company in return for influence peddling.

The 75-year-old Choi was arrested and indicted in May on charges of taking 800 million won in bribes from property developer Pi City through broker Lee Dong-ryul on 13 occasions between July 2006 and February 2008.

In August, prosecutors sought three and a half years behind bars and 800 million won in fines, noting the money he accepted was “in exchange for favors in a construction project.”

Choi admitted to receiving part of the money, but denied the allegations that he exerted any influence on the construction project.

“It is hard to accept Choi’s claim that the 600 million won he received from broker Lee was not related to any favors for the construction project,” said Jeong Seon-jae, chief judge of the Seoul Central District Court.

The court, however, acquitted him of charges that he received an additional 200 million won from the broker, citing a lack of credibility of the broker’s testimony.

Choi has asked for bail citing his health problems, but the court dismissed the application Friday because of concerns he may flee and destroy evidence.

“He committed serious crimes by accepting such a huge amount of money over a long period, when he should have set a good example for the public, and the construction project, which could bring change to the industry, should have been proceeded legally,” the judge said in a verdict.

“(But) the ruling was made in consideration of the fact that he did not actually peddle his influence over the project and he is old and in poor health,” he added, explaining the reason for the sentence being lighter than prosecutors had demanded.

Choi stepped down as chief of the state-run Korea Communications Commission in January, after one of his close aides was accused of receiving large amounts of money in bribes.

His case is one of a series of high-profile graft scandals that implicated an elder brother of President Lee and several close aides. Earlier this week, the ruling Saenuri Party vowed to establish an independent body to conduct special inspections on presidents’ family members, and other powerful figures, as part of efforts to root out corruption. (Yonhap News)