The nation's top prosecutor stepped down on Monday after being embroiled in an allegation that he had a son out of wedlock.

"I want to show my gratitude to my family as I put down the heavy responsibility as prosecutor general," Prosecutor General Chae Dong-wook said during a ceremony marking his resignation at the Supreme Public Prosecutors' Office.

President Park Geun-hye accepted Chae's resignation Saturday, about a fortnight after Chae offered to quit over a report by the country's largest-circulation daily Chosun Ilbo that he fathered a son in 2002 through an extramarital affair.

Chae, who took office in April for a two-year term, once again denied the allegations.

"(I) was not the best breadwinner but have been a respectable father and husband," Chae said.

Following the ceremony, Chae said that he dropped a lawsuit against the Chosun Ilbo but that he will continue with taking a paternity DNA test.

Last week, Chae filed the suit with the Seoul Central District Court to demand the newspaper issue a correction, arguing that the report was "100 percent false."

"I will instead take a separate, stronger legal measure after the DNA test result comes out to reveal the truth," Chae said in a statement.

The latest development came after Justice Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn recommended President Park accept Chae's resignation as there is "sufficient" evidence supporting the allegations.

Critics and the opposition party claimed that the prosecution's full-fledged investigation headed by Chae into a presidential election meddling scandal involving the state-run spy agency might have unnerved the presidential office and the ruling party.

The opposition party has denounced the Chae scandal as a government-backed move to oust the top prosecutor for aggressively pursuing the investigation.

Many former top prosecutors have ended their careers in disgrace, resigning or being forced to leave the office before the end of their term.

Former Prosecutor General Han Sang-dae, Chae's predecessor, also resigned earlier this year over a string of high-profile scandals within the organization. (Yonhap News)