President Lee Jae Myung has accepted the resignation of Oceans Minister Chun Jae-soo, who has been accused of receiving money and gifts from the Unification Church while serving as a ruling Democratic Party(DP) representative.

In a press notice on Thursday, the top office said the president had processed Chun's resignation, just hours after the minister offered to leave his post.

It is the first time a Cabinet minister has stepped down under the Lee administration.

Yun Young-ho, the church's former second-in-command, told a special counsel team investigating former first lady Kim Keon-hee that he'd given Chun two luxury watches and tens of millions of won in cash between 2018 and 2020.

Chun called the accusation groundless on Thursday and said that confronting them head-on in a dignified manner would be the proper conduct expected of a public official.