The Republic of Korea's Supreme Court upheld a prison sentence on Thursday for a former lawmaker accused of encouraging an armed rebellion in the country should war break out with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

In confirming a nine-year prison sentence for former Unified Progressive Party lawmaker Lee Seok-ki for inciting rebellion and praising the DPRK, the court also upheld shorter terms for six of Lee's colleagues in their final appeals trial, Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae said.

The ruling follows several other decisions that have drawn sharp criticism from liberals. Earlier this month, ROK officials arrested leftist activist Hwang Sun, a former party colleague of Lee, for praising the DPRK, which is illegal in the ROK under its National Security Law. That arrest came just days after a US citizen was deported because of similar accusations.