The top court upheld a lower court conviction against former main opposition People Power Party(PPP) Representative Kim Sung-tae for offering favors in exchange for the hiring of his daughter by one of the country's major telecommunications companies.

The Supreme Court on Thursday confirmed the appellate court's one-year prison sentence, suspended for two years, handed to Kim on bribery charges.

Kim was indicted in July 2019, facing accusations of assisting then-KT Corporation Chairman Lee Suk-chae in exchange for a favor. The 76-year-old Lee was seeking to avoid appearing as a witness during the 2012 parliamentary audit.

Kim's daughter, who had been working as a contract worker at a KT affiliate, was subsequently hired by the firm as a regular employee.

The former three-term lawmaker was acquitted in the first trial after the court found that he was not the one who benefited from the deal. The appeals court reversed the ruling, finding that his daughter reaped the benefits in his stead.