Former SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won has been jailed after being found guilty of embezzlement.
Chey, the current chairman of SK Group's holding company SK Holdings, was sentenced to four years imprisonment by a Seoul court, Reuters reported.
Chey was accused of embezzling tens of billions of won (millions of dollars) worth of affiliates' funds. He stepped down as SK Group CEO in December.
SK Group maintains Chey's innocence, and has vowed to appeal the verdict after reviewing the ruling thoroughly.
SK Group owns telecom giant SK Telecom, chipmaker SK Hynix and oil refinery SK Innovation. Chey remains chairman of SK Innovation and SK Hynix as well as SK Holdings, and owns a controlling stake in SK Group's largest shareholder.
The conviction is notable because the leaders of South Korea's chaebol, or multinational conglomerates, have traditionally received favorable treatment including presidential pardons when convicted of white-collar crimes.
But South Korea's incoming new president, Park Geun-hye, has pledged to bring more equality to the nation's justice system.