SEOUL-- Upholding a lower court's decision, an appellate court on Friday rejected a request to cancel the seizure of a residential building owned by former President Chun Doo-hwan's family in western Seoul.

The lawsuit was filed by one of Chun's daughters-in-law in October 2018 after prosecutors seized her house, an annex inside the ex-president's residential compound, to collect unpaid penalties from him.

The Seoul High Court dismissed the appeal, saying, "The lower court's ruling was fair, considering that the plaintiff is tied with Chun as family."

Chun's entire residence in Seodaemun Ward in western Seoul was put up for auction that year at the request of the prosecution.

Chun, a former Army general who seized power in a 1979 military coup and served as president from 1980 to 1988, was ordered by the Supreme Court in 1997 to forfeit more than 220 billion won (US$186 million) for amassing slush funds.

But the 90-year-old has refused to pay the bulk of his forfeit and has also been stripped of his privileges as a former president due to his convictions for treason and bribery.

The other house and a garden in Chun's residential compound also have different owners. The main building belongs to Chun's wife and the garden to his secretary.

The Seoul High Court ruled last year that the property's main building and garden should not be subject to seizure as there was insufficient evidence to prove they were acquired illegally. But the annex, it said, could be seized because it was bought with his slush funds. The Supreme Court confirmed the decision in April.

Source: Yonhap News Agency