Seoul, Nov 2 (TIWN) Former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak was jailed again on Monday on corruption charges, following the Supreme Court's order last week to confirm an earlier 17-year prison term.

It is effectively a life sentence: unless he is pardoned or paroled, the 78-year-old will not leave jail until 2036, when he would be 95.  He left his residence in southern Seoul in a black car, passing a throng of journalists and former aides, but did not say anything and was not visible through the vehicle's darkened windows.  The scene illustrated the polarisation of South Korean politics: one of Lee's supporters held a sign reading "President Lee saved the economy and raised the national profile", and others saluted him with clenched fists.