SK Holdings Co Ltd's <003600.KS> chairman Chey Tae-won was sentenced to 4 years in jail for embezzlement, a South Korean court has ruled.

The prison term reflects the country's harsher stance towards misdeeds by powerful corporate leaders. Shares in SK Holdings closed down nearly 3 percent before the ruling was announced.

SK Holdings is a holding company of the country's third-largest conglomerate, SK Group.

Prosecutors last year accused Chey, 52, and his brother of embezzling part of over 200 billion won (116.3 million pounds) of corporate funds that SK Group companies had invested for personal investments.

(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Edmund Klamann and Jeremy Laurence)