Prosecutors dropped charges against former President Moon Jae-in, Rebuilding Korea Party emergency committee chair Cho Kuk and former presidential chief of staff Im Jong-seok in connection with the 2018 Ulsan mayoral election.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said Thursday that it would not prosecute the three individuals, whom it had accused of meddling in the election, due to the precedent set by a recent Supreme Court ruling and a lapsed statute of limitations.

Others, including ex-Ulsan Mayor Song Cheol-ho and ex-Vice Mayor Song Byung-gi, were also cleared.

The case centered on suspicions that police acted on presidential office intelligence implicating then-mayor Kim Gi-hyeon.

Though indictments were filed in 2020, repeated appeals forced prosecutors to reopen the probe.

With Thursday's ruling, the politically charged case ends with no convictions of senior officials.