The nation's top court on Saturday again accepted a request from the convicted chairman of food and entertainment conglomerate CJ Group to suspend his imprisonment for hospital treatment.

The Supreme Court decided to suspend the confinement of Lee Jay-hyun, who was found guilty of various corruption charges, for the next four months, citing his poor health.

But Lee's place of stay will be limited to Seoul National University Hospital until Nov. 21, the court said. 


In an appeals court ruling in September, the 55-year-old tycoon received a reduced jail term of three years for misappropriating some 160 billion won ($150 million) in company assets to offshore slush funds and dodging taxes in the process.

The court, however, did not immediately lock up Lee, the country's 10th richest man, saying that he was not a flight risk.

Lee, who has undergone an organ transplant, claims that he suffers from multiple illnesses such as Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and kidney disease.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease is an inherited neurological disease characterized by slowly progressive degeneration of muscles in the feet, lower legs and hands.

The chairman is currently undergoing an appeals trial at the Supreme Court. (Yonhap)