Prosecutors raided the home of the head of local online media outlet Newsverse on Tuesday over the broadcast of alleged fake news about President Yoon Suk Yeol in an attempt to influence last year's presidential election.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office sent prosecutors and investigators to the home of outlet chief Lee Jin-dong in the morning to obtain evidence related to charges of defamation.

Lee is suspected of involvement in the dissemination of a false report prior to the 2022 presidential race alleging that then-opposition candidate Yoon had colluded to bury a probe into an illegal loan scheme linked to the Daejang-dong development project while he was a prosecutor in 2011.

In October, the state investigative agency raided the residence of the former Newsverse reporter who issued the report in October 2021, identified by the surname Yun.

Prosecutors believe that Newsverse, like other media outlets Newstapa and JTBC facing similar allegations, may have released fake news in an attempt to change the principal figure in the development scandal from then-ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung to Yoon.

The state agency is also reportedly looking into possible involvement by a main opposition Democratic Party task force launched to respond to the Daejang-dong scandal.