A ruling Saenuri Party lawmaker was sentenced to five years in jail Thursday for taking bribes from a railway parts supplier in exchange for business favors.

Rep. Cho Hyun-ryong was indicted on charges of taking 160 million won (US$146,000) from the head of Sampyo E&C from December 2011 to July 2014.

Prosecutors said the 70-year-old helped one of Sampyo's products pass a qualification test and landed the company a deal with the state railway authority, which Cho headed until December 2011.

The Seoul Central District Court found Cho guilty of the charges, citing convincing testimony from Sampyo officials.

"Sampyo officials provided intricate details that wouldn't have been possible if they hadn't actually bribed Cho," Judge Lee Beom-gyun said. "They risked getting themselves in trouble, and there's no reason they would try to wrongfully convict the lawmaker."

Cho was also fined a combined 220 million won.

Cho would be stripped of his parliamentary seat if the verdict is confirmed by a higher court.

Prosecutors had earlier sought a nine-year prison sentence for the lawmaker. (Yonhap)