A former ruling party lawmaker accused of illegal real estate investments has been handed a prison term. 

The Seoul Southern District Court on Wednesday sentenced Sohn Hye-won to 18 months behind bars on charges of corruption and violating a law banning real estate purchases under a borrowed name. 

Prosecutors have argued that the 65-year-old politician, who served her first term as a lawmaker in the 20th National Assembly, engaged in real estate speculation using information she obtained while sitting on a parliamentary committee.

Sohn is suspected of borrowing the names of her relative, an acquaintance and the foundation headed by her husband to buy 26 pieces of land and 21 buildings worth about one-point-four billion won in the southwestern port city of Mokpo between March 2017 and January of last year. 

She is also accused of using confidential information from a Mokpo city government official regarding a potential development plan in the city when purchasing the properties 

Sohn, who has denied the charges, said she will appeal the ruling, saying it only reflected the prosecution’s arguments.