A Seoul court on Friday meted out a five-year jail sentence to a former chief of local cosmetics brand Nature Republic who has been at the center of a high-profile lobbying scandal that rocked the country's legal circles.

The Seoul Central District Court found Jung Woon-ho guilty of bribery. The court also sentenced Kim Soo-chun, a former senior judge, to seven years in jail for taking hundreds of millions of won in kickbacks from Jung.

Jung, 52, has been accused of bribing judges and lawyers in return for favors related to a set of legal cases, including his trial for overseas gambling charges. The so-called "judicial corruption" scandal revolving around him has sent shockwaves across the country. 

"Due to Jung's deeds, the public trust, which is the basis for the existence of the judicial authority, has fallen," Nam Sung-min, the presiding judge, said in his ruling. (Yonhap)