78-YEAR-OLD Lee Myung-bak, former South Korean president has bagged a 17-year jail term for bribery and embezzlement offences.

The country’s Supreme Court upheld the conviction that was first delivered in 2018, where the former president had been sentenced by an Appeal Court, only to be released on bail, pending the ruling from the country’s apex court.

On Thursday, Myung-bak who severed as president of South Korea from 2008-2013 was convicted for embezzling 25.2 billion won ($22 million) and accepting bribes totalling 9.4 billion won ($8.2 million).

Reports also reveal that he is subject to a 13-billion-won fine and forfeiture of assets to the tune 5.7 billion won.

Myung-Bak is one of four of South Korea’s living former presidents who have either been behind bars or have served jail terms. The others are Park Geun-hye, Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo.

Park Geun-hye who served from 2013 – 2017 was the first female president of South Korea. In April 2017, Park was formally charged with abuse of power, bribery, coercion and leaking government secrets. She was sentenced to 24 years in prison and a charged fine of 18 billion won ($16.7 million).

Chun Doo-hwan, who served from 1980-1988 was on December 3, 1995 arrested alongside 16 others on charges of conspiracy and insurrection. On December 16, 1996, the Seoul High Court issued a sentence of life imprisonment and a fine in the amount of 220 billion won (194.2 million).

Roh Tae-woo also got a 22-year jail sentence for mutiny and treason, which was reduced to 17  years on appeal. He was president of South Korea from 1988-1993.

No Nigerian president since the return to democracy in 1999 has been prosecuted for corruption, let alone convicted and jailed.