South Korea's Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a previous court decision on Choi Soon-sil, a longtime friend of jailed former President Park Geun-hye, in an influence-peddling and corruption case, Yonhap reported.

The highest court confirmed the previous ruling by the Seoul High Court in February that sentenced Choi to 18 years in prison on a string of corruption charges linked to a massive influence-peddling scandal that ultimately led to Park's removal from office in early 2017.

The court also ordered her to pay a fine of 20 billion won (16.9 million U.S. dollars) and forfeit 6.3 billion won, according to Yonhap.

The corruption scandal surrounding Choi was brought to light in October 2016, when local cable network JTBC secured her tablet PC, which contained evidence that she had meddled in state affairs using her ties with Park.

(Cover: File photo of Choi Soon-sil (C) who is a long-time friend of former president Park Geun-hye. /AFP)