SEOUL, April 28 -- A South Korean appeals court increased the corruption sentence for former first lady Kim Keon Hee on Tuesday to four years in jail, up from 20 months, after finding her guilty of stock manipulation and bribery.

The much heavier penalty came as the court overturned Kim's prior acquittal by a lower court on stock price manipulation charges.

"The court sentences the defendant to four years in prison and imposes a ₩50 million  (RM134,000) fine," the Seoul High Court said in a verdict televised live.

It found Kim guilty of manipulating the share price of Deutsch Motors, a South Korean car dealer, which it ruled a "collusive... trading act constituting market manipulation".

"The defendant appears to have partic...