A former head of a state-run small and medium-sized business support corporation was sentenced to 10 months in prison Friday for unlawfully hiring a former intern of a lawmaker based on his request.

The Anyang branch of the Suwon District Court found Park Cheol-kyu, who headed the Small and Medium Business Corp. from 2012 to 2015, guilty of obstruction of duty.

Park was indicted in January last year over allegations he ordered his staff to hire a former intern for Rep. Choi Kyoung-hwan, surnamed Hwang, though he received poor scores in the recruitment process in 2013.

The four-term lawmaker of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party is a close ally of former President Park Geun-hye. Choi was the floor leader of the then ruling party when the incident took place.

During the trial in September, the former SBC head testified that he was pressured by Choi, leading to a reinvestigation of the politician and an eventual indictment in March.

The court, however, said Park cannot be freed of his responsibility even if he was pressured by Choi. (Yonhap)