Two men were arrested Friday on charges of defaming President Yoon Suk Yeol in a media interview engineered to discredit him as a presidential candidate, following a Seoul court's issuance of arrest warrants.

Kim Man-bae, a journalist-turned-property developer, and journalist Shin Hak-lim are accused of engineering a media interview that falsely suggested Yoon's involvement in a high-profile development corruption scandal.

The interview, conducted in September 2021, was published by Shin's news outlet, Newstapa, on March 6, 2022, just three days before the presidential election, in which Yoon was elected president.

Shortly after the interview, Kim paid Shin 165 million won to purchase copies of his book, which prosecutors suspect was in fact a financial reward for the "fake" interview.

Both Kim and Shin have denied any intention to influence the presidential election, saying the interview was just a private conversation.

The Seoul Central District Court granted arrest warrants for Kim and Shin, requested by prosecutors on charges of defamation, bribery and concealment of criminal proceeds.

The court cited the risks of Kim and Shin trying to destroy evidence or flee as the reasons for the decision.

It marks the third time that Kim has been arrested, having previously been detained in connection with the development corruption scandal, involving an apartment construction project in the Daejang-dong area of Seongnam, south of Seoul. (Yonhap)