Prosecutors decided not to indict four current and former journalists who had been accused of defamation of former President Yoon Suk Yeol through false reporting ahead of the 2022 presidential election.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office issued a non-indictment on Tuesday for the four former and current journalists of the Kyunghyang Shinmun, citing insufficient evidence.

An official at the state agency said there was insufficient evidence to determine whether the journalists knowingly misrepresented facts or acted with deliberate intent, despite discrepancies in their reporting.

In October 2021, media reports emerged alleging Yoon, then the most likely candidate for the conservative People Power Party, had colluded in an illegal loan scheme in 2011 when he was a prosecutor.

The 2011 scandal involved a broker, Cho Woo-hyung, who took out an illegal loan from Busan Savings Bank to prepare funds for the development project in Seongnam's Daejang-dong area.

The Kyunghyang Shinmun also reported an interview with a businessman who had been involved in the early stages of the Daejang-dong project, alleging collusion.