The Seoul High Court on Tuesday handed an eight-year prison sentence to Ra Deok-yeon, the key figure in a massive stock manipulation case involving SG Securities Korea, sharply down from the initial 25-year sentence.

The appeals court also ordered Ra to pay 146-and-a-half billion won, or around 99-point-seven million U.S. dollars, in fines, a reduction of around ten billion won from the initial ruling. 

Despite the reduced sentence, Ra was again detained after the court revoked his bail. 

In its ruling, the court said it recognized that Ra's stock manipulation drove shares to surge before plunging, harming numerous victims.

However, the court was quick to add that Ra had not foreseen the crash and became saddled with massive debt after losing his investment.

The court said Ra's case differs from other stock manipulation cases because investors who suffered significant losses requested leniency for the defendant.