Seoul (CNN) A former top prosecutor whose actions helped kick off South Korea's #MeToo movement has been jailed.

Ahn Tae-geun was sentenced to two years in prison Wednesday, the first major conviction since sexual assault and harassment allegations began circulating last year -- fueled in part by junior prosecutor Seo Ji-hyun, who came forward with allegations she was groped by Ahn in 2010.

He could not be prosecuted for the alleged assault, as the statue of limitations had expired. But Seo's revelations nevertheless caused a media sensation in South Korea, and saw a number of other women go public with their own experiences of abuse and harassment.

Before she went public with her allegations, Seo had confronted Ahn about them, after which he assigned her to a new posting in Tongyeong, far from Seoul in the southeast of Korea.

On Wednesday, the court ruled that retaliation was an illegal abuse of power, and jailed Ahn. It's the latest disgrace to hit the former top prosecutor, who was previously removed from a senior position in the Justice Ministry over allegations he passed envelopes of cash to other members of his office.