During the first hearing held last month, the younger Kim admitted to all charges leveled against him, including violence, obstruction of business and destruction of public assets.

"I deeply regret what I have done and feel sorry for the victims," Kim earlier said during the trial. "I will make sure it won't happen again."

The court said it gave a suspended sentence to Kim, as he deeply repented for his behaviors and has no records of prior crimes.

"Usually, this kind of case is punished with a simple penalty.
But our society demands stricter social responsibility from the privileged class, including conglomerate owner families," Judge Lee Jong-woo said.

Kim was a gold medalist at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games' group equestrian event and worked at the construction unit of the country's eighth-largest business group until the court issued a warrant to formally arrest him in January.

Crimes involving conglomerate owners and their families are often subject to intense public criticism in South Korea. (Yonhap)