SOUTH KOREAN state prosecutors demanded a 20-year imprisonment Thursday for former conservative President Lee Myung-bak over corruption charges.

Prosecutors said in a final court hearing of the Lee case that the Seoul Central District Court should sentence Lee to 20 years in prison, requesting a fine of 15 billion won (US$13.3 million) and a forfeiture of 11.1 billion won.

Lee, who served a five-year presidency from early 2008, was arrested in late March, before being indicted in the following month on 16 counts of corruption charges including bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power.

The 76-year-old was accused of embezzling tens of millions of U.S. dollars from DAS, a local auto parts manufacturer that is believed to have been owned by Lee under borrowed names.

Lee was charged with taking bribes from the country’s spy agency and Samsung Electronics as well as the head of a state-run banking group and a politician.

Lee was also charged with illegally moving confidential presidential documents from the presidential Blue House to his private building after retirement

Prosecutors said the defendant abused his presidential authority, commissioned by the people, for his personal interests and tainted the constitutional history.

(Xinhua)