The nation’s top court on Wednesday accepted a request from the convicted chairman of food and entertainment conglomerate CJ Group to suspend his imprisonment for hospital treatment.
The Supreme Court decided to suspend the confinement of Lee Jay-hyun, who was found guilty of various corruption charges, for another four months until late July, citing his poor health.
He has been released since November in accordance with the top court’s approval, with the imprisonment suspension set to end Saturday.
Lee asked for the extension for the next four months as his health has further deteriorated since last year and taking him into custody again would be potentially fatal, according to his lawyer.
“We’ve acknowledged considerable reasons for the extension for Lee,” the court said in a written decision.
Lee, who underwent a kidney transplant, claims that he suffers from multiple illnesses, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol and a kidney disease.
In an appeals court ruling in September, the 54-year-old received a reduced jail term of three years for misappropriating some 160 billion won ($150 million) in company money to create offshore slush funds and dodging taxes in the process.
The chairman has filed an appeal with the Supreme Court against the conviction. (Yonhap)
