The suspects were convicted of colluding in secretly filming scenes of Lee spending time with women believed to be prostitutes at his homes in southern Seoul five times between December 2011 and June 2012. They were found to have blackmailed Samsung and received 900 million won ($804,000) on two occasions.

The Seoul Central District Court sentenced the main culprit, a former employee of retail company CJ Cheiljedang, to four years and six months in prison for masterminding and funding the scheme.

Other accomplices in the blackmail, including his brother, got terms ranging from one and a half to four years. They have been in custody during the investigation.

A Chinese woman, who was indicted without detention for filming the scenes, was sentenced to eight months.

The videos were leaked to the media in July 2016. The court cleared them of spreading the footage, citing lack of evidence.

Lee has been hospitalized since May 2014 after a heart attack. (Yonhap)