The higher court cleared him of part of the charges, ruling that his offer of some 150 million won ($131,370), including a high-end SUV, to convicted Judge Kim Soo-chun was not part of the bribes for lobbying, citing a lack of evidence.

The court also acquitted him of the charges that he got illicit gains from claiming leasehold rights to part of the two hotels owned by his company, saying that it's difficult to determine the profits based on the given evidence.

Still, the court said it maintained a hefty sentence on the defendant, saying that "a severe punishment is inevitable, given his past actions indicating that he seriously undermined the law and had the wrong idea that money can fix anything."

Late last month, the same appeals court sentenced a judge-turned-lawyer convicted of taking bribes from Jung to six years in prison, nearly unchanged from the lower court's ruling of seven years. Judge Kim was sentenced to five years behind bars in an appellate trial in early July. (Yonhap)