Prosecutors raided two local media outlets, JTBC and Newstapa, over allegations of disseminating fake news about President Yoon Suk Yeol in an attempt to influence last year's presidential election.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on Thursday began the search and seizure operation at cable channel JTBC for alleged defamation under the Information Communications Network Act. The search at Newstapa was delayed after the online news outlet refused to cooperate.

The search warrants also include the residences of a former JTBC journalist identified by the surname Bong and a Newstapa journalist identified by the surname Han. 

Prosecutors suspect that Kim Man-bae, a key figure in the Seongnam development scandal, bribed Shin Hak-lim, the former head of the National Union of Media Workers, to conduct a phone interview with him in September 2021.

During the interview, Kim alleged that President Yoon, a presidential candidate at the time, had colluded in an illegal loan scheme while he was a prosecutor in 2011. The recording of the interview was released by Newstapa three days ahead of the election in May 2022.

JTBC also reported a month ahead of the election that Yoon had attempted to cover up the loan scheme based on an interview with a broker involved in the scandal.

Prosecutors believe that Kim and Shin may have collaborated to disseminate fake news in an attempt to change the principal figure in the development scandal from then-ruling party candidate Lee Jae-myung to Yoon.