A Seoul appellate court on Thursday commuted the sentence for a judge-turned-lawyer charged with bribery in a high-profile lobbying scandal, acquitting her of some of the tax evasion charges.

The Seoul High Court meted out a 5 1/2-year prison term for Choi You-jeong, 48, reducing the sentence by six months.

The court retained the forfeiture of 4.31 billion won ($3.81 million) for the defendant. 

The court said the sentence was shortened as it found her not guilty of part of the tax evasion charges, a ruling in line with the Supreme Court's verdict late last year that quashed the ruling on the tax evasion conviction and ordered a retrial.

Choi has been charged for taking some 10 billion won in kickbacks from two local businessmen from 2015-2016. They were charged with illegal overseas gambling and running an unauthorized financial firm. She told them she could help them bargain their time in prison or get a suspended sentence.

The lobbying scandal involving Jung and other judges put the judiciary and legal circles under intense public scrutiny, leading to a formal apology by the then Supreme Court Chief Yang Sung-tae. (Yonhap)