SEOUL, June 3: International Olympic Committee (IOC) vice-president Kim Un-yong was sentenced to two and one-half years in jail on corruption charges on Thursday by a court in South Korea, Yonhap news agency reported.

Kim, 73, long one of the most powerful officials in the IOC, was arrested while in hospital in January on charges connected with his leadership of the National Olympic Committee and the world taekwondo federation.

Officials at Seoul District Court were not immediately available to confirm the Yonhap report. The agency said Kim was also fined $670,100. Prosecutors charged him with taking $3.27m from taekwondo federations and receiving bribes from sports officials and businesses. -Reuters