Former South Korean President Lee Myung Bak was sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined 13.0 billion won ($11.5 million) on Friday for receiving bribes while in office.

The Seoul Central District Court said in the ruling that Lee received over 8 billion won in bribes, including from Samsung Electronics Co., while embezzling about 24.6 billion won from an automobile parts company he secretly owned.

Prosecutors had demanded that the 76-year-old former leader be given 20 years in prison, a 15.0 billion won fine and forfeiture of 11.1 billion won.

Lee, who was in office from 2008 to 2013, was indicted in April on a total of 16 charges including that he allegedly took 11.0 billion won in bribes while in office.

He has denied any wrongdoing. He also did not appear at Friday's session, which was broadcast live on TV.

Lee's immediate successor, Park Geun Hye, faces decades-long imprisonment over a corruption scandal that led to her ouster from power last year.