A presidential secretary has tendered his resignation amid allegations of power abuse originating from his former duty as a Seoul City official. 

Presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee said in a written briefing on Friday that secretary for culture Jun Hyo-gwan had expressed his intention to step down. 

Park said Jun denied the suspicions against him. She said his resignation comes in order to alleviate any burden on state affairs, adding that he plans to fight the charges as a private citizen. 

Main opposition People Power Party Rep. Lee Tae-kyu had claimed that Jun, while he was working as a senior official at the Seoul Metropolitan Government, had arranged favors for the company he founded and let it win bids for a dozen municipal projects worth a total of five-point-one billion won. 

Presidential spokesperson Park said the presidential office investigated the suspicions, including questioning Jun and some 50 other people, among them Seoul City officials, but had not found any evidence or testimony to back the charge. 

The presidential office will hand over the result of its probe to legal enforcement agencies, she said.