A senior presidential official on Sunday rejected opposition allegations that presidential chief of staff Im Jong-seok's recent visit to the United Arab Emirates was aimed at preventing the Middle Eastern nation from cutting off relations with South Korea.
"The suspicions the opposition party are raising are not true at all," the official said.
Rep. Kim Sung-tae, floor leader of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, has raised suspicions the UAE has strongly criticized the government of President Moon Jae-in for spreading corruption allegations between the country and the government of former President Lee Myung-bak over the 2009 contract to export nuclear power reactors.