SUWON, South Korea-- Police stuck to a previous decision not to refer the oldest son of opposition leader Lee Jae-myung for indictment after reinvestigating allegations that he paid for sex, officials said Thursday.

The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency in Suwon, south of Seoul, looked into the case again at the behest of the prosecution but maintained its previous decision not to refer the 31-year-old son of the main opposition Democratic Party's leader for indictment as no new evidence has been found.

The junior Lee had been accused of illegal gambling on an internet card game site on several occasions between early 2019 and late 2021, and purchasing sex services.

Police had initially dropped the sex purchase charges, referring him to the prosecution only on illegal gambling charges, but reopened the sex purchase case at the instruction of the prosecution in December last year.

The allegations emerged in late 2021, when Lee was running for the presidential election.

Source: Yonhap News Agency