An appeals court has handed down a reduced jail term to a former vice-president of South Korea's largest tobacco maker for receiving kickbacks from a company subcontractor, court records showed Monday.

The defendant, identified only by his surname Lee, was sentenced to 18 months in prison on charges of receiving hundreds of millions of won from a local cigarette pack maker. The court also ordered Lee, 61, to forfeit some 325 million won  he received.

The former vice-president of KT&G was indicted last year on suspicions of receiving the money between 2007 and 2013.

A district court had sentenced him to two years in prison.

Lee's accomplice, identified only by his surname Koo, also received a one-year jail term, reduced from the original 18-month sentence. The 47-year-old was also ordered to forfeit an additional 440 million won.

The appeals court said it took into consideration that the two voluntarily cooperated with authorities, showing remorse for their crimes. (Yonhap)