Former Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan has been sentenced to five years in prison for taking bribes from the nation's intelligence agency during his term.
In addition to the jail sentence, the Seoul Central District Court fined Choi around 2-hundred-20-thousand U.S. dollars.
Choi, who is known for his close ties with ousted President Park Geun-hye, had earlier been found guilty of receiving nearly 90 thousand dollars from the National Intelligence Service in 2014.. in exchange for favors from the then-NIS chief.