Roh Gun-pyeong, elder brother of former president Roh Moo-hyun, who was charged with taking W2.97 billion in bribes for using his connections to influence the purchase of Sejong Securities by the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, has been sentenced to a prison term.

The Seoul Central District Court on Thursday sentenced Roh to four years in prison with a W574 million fine. The court ruled, "Although Roh insists that he was merely helping his acquaintances, receiving a large sum of money for using his status as brother of the president and exerting influence on Sejong Securities' sales is illegal. Therefore legal punishment is inevitable."