Senior Judge Lee Chun-geun of the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 1 on Wednesday sentenced Kang, who was indicted on charges including violating the Political Funds Act, to two years and six months in prison and ordered the forfeiture of 100 million won.
Prosecutors had earlier sought a four-year prison term and forfeiture of 100 million won for Kang.
Kim Kyung, a former Seoul city councilor accused of handing Kang 100 million won in exchange for the nomination, was sentenced to one year in prison. Nam, Kang's former aide who arranged the meeting between the two, received eight months in prison, suspended for two years.
Kang and Kim, who had been released on bail last month, were taken back into custody in the courtroom after the court found they posed risks of destroying evidence and fleeing.
The court found guilty the prosecution's allegation that Kim met Kang at a hotel in Seoul's Yongsan district ahead of the January 2022 local elections and then delivered a shopping bag containing 100 million won in cash through Nam.
"The defendants donated and received political funds through methods not prescribed by the Political Funds Act in connection with the nomination of a city council candidate," the court said. "This undermined the fairness of elections and seriously damaged public trust in them."
The court added, "In Kang Sun-woo's case, we considered as aggravating factors that she accepted a large sum of 100 million won, that she denied the charges and showed no remorse, and that she used the money she received for personal purposes."