Seoul - A South Korean appeals court on Friday upheld the tax-evasion conviction and suspended three-year prison sentence for the former chairman of the Samsung Group, Lee Kun Hee.

The Seoul High Court reaffirmed the 110-billion-won (80-million-dollar) fine levelled against Lee, 66, at his sentencing in July and also confirmed his acquittal on breach of trust charges.

Lee, once the most powerful tycoon in South Korea, was accused of being responsible for dubious stock transactions in the mid-1990s that were designed to illegally transfer powers at Samsung to his only son, Lee Jae Yong.

Both courts found the elder Lee guilty of evading taxes on profits made in the stock trades.

He stepped down as Samsung's chairman in April after he was indicted and after spending nearly 20 years leading South Korea's largest conglomerate. However, he remains an important Samsung shareholder.

Lee Kun Hee joined other South Korean tycoons who have faced criminal charges and received lenient sentences after judges said jailing the entrepreneurs could hurt the country's economy.

Samsung produces about a fifth of South Korea's exports. The largest corporation within the conglomerate is Samsung Electronics, the world's leading memory chip maker.

Prosecutors had sought a seven-year jail term and 350-billion-won fine against Lee. The Seoul Central District Court sentenced him instead to three years in prison while suspending the sentence for five years, meaning that if he stays out of legal trouble over the next five years, he would not go to prison. (dpa)