S Korean president's son jailed

Prosecutors had sought a six-year sentence

By Caroline Gluck BBC correspondent in Seoul

A judge at Seoul's district court has sentenced one of President Kim Dae-jung's sons to a three-and-a-half-year prison term after he was found guilty of taking bribes from businessmen.

Kim Hong-up, the 52-year-old second son of the president, was also ordered to pay more than $850,000 in fines and penalties.

President Kim had pledged to clean up politics

His younger brother, Kim Hong-gul, has also been convicted on corruption charges in a separate trial and will be sentenced later in November.

Prosecutors had asked the court to jail President Kim's second son for six years for accepting bribes from businessmen in return for peddling influence and evading taxes.

Kim Hong-up had admitted taking money from businessmen but insisted there were no strings attached.

Embarrassment

The two sons' cases have been highly embarrassing and politically damaging for Nobel Peace prize-winning President Kim who has just four months left in office.

The president was elected promising to make the fight against corruption one of his top priorities.

But his family and key aides have been ensnared in a series of corruption scandals.

President Kim, who has not been implicated is any wrongdoing himself, has repeatedly apologised to the nation.

He told journalists recently that the scandals involving his sons were the biggest misfortune of his life.