(LEAD) Ruling party lawmaker gets jail term for bribery

(ATTN: UPDATES with lawmaker's detention in paras 3-5; ADDS photo)

SEOUL, Jan. 30 (Yonhap) -- A ruling party lawmaker received a jail sentence Friday for taking bribes from a railway parts supplier in exchange for business favors.

The Seoul Central District Court handed down a four-year jail term and a fine of 70 million won (US$64,060) to Rep. Song Kwang-ho of the Saenuri Party and ordered him to pay 65 million won in restitution for the crime.

The court ordered him to be detained immediately, citing fears that "he may destroy evidence and try to flee."

Because the National Assembly is not in session, parliamentary approval is not needed to detain an incumbent lawmaker.

He would be stripped of his parliamentary seat if the sentence is confirmed through the top court.

In September, Song was indicted on charges of taking 65 million won in kickbacks from the head of the local railway parts supplier AVT on 11 occasions between April 2012 and May last year.

"The AVT head's testimony that he gave money to Song is credible and consistent with objective evidence such as text messages and phone conversations exchanged between the two people as well as details of payment with the company-owned credit card," Judge Jo Yong-hyeon said in a court decision.

"The accused went further to provide help with AVT's business in various ways such as holding several meetings with the board of directors of the Korea Rail Network Authority and presenting his opinions to a vice minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport," the judge said. "He cannot escape from taking grave responsibility for those acts."

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