South Korea's chief prosecutor denied allegations that he has been deliberately passive about investigating alleged bribery of prosecutors linked to a hedge fund case.

At a parliamentary audit on Thursday, Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl said the Justice Ministry's allegations are not based on facts, saying "mudslinging" is the gentlest expression that he could use.

Yoon said he had ordered the chief district prosecutor leading the investigation to thoroughly look into the alleged bribery, adding insufficiencies could cause problems during the parliamentary audit.

The chief prosecutor said that immediately after learning about the allegations through the media, he had also ordered the district office to track down prosecutors found to have been bribed.

On Sunday, the Justice Ministry accused Yoon of not actively giving orders to investigate allegations that Kim Bong-hyun, a key suspect in the financial fraud case, bribed prosecutors and opposition politicians.

Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae also exercised her authority to order Yoon to recuse himself from the investigation.