Prosecutors on Friday indicted Jung Woon-ho, former head of local cosmetics brand Nature Republic, on charges of dereliction of duty and embezzlement, as they accelerated their probe into a high-profile lobbying scandal.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office filed the charges against the disgraced businessman for having misappropriated some 1.8 billion won ($1.55 million) from the cosmetics firm and 9 billion won from an affiliate of the firm between January and February last year.

Jung has been at the center of a sprawling lobbying scandal that sent shockwaves across the nation as the case has reportedly ensnared politicians, government officials and prominent figures in the judiciary.

Jung also faces charges that he took 3.5 billion won from another affiliate of the cosmetics firm and lent it to a local hotel. The hotel failed to return the money to Jung but offered him the right to lease two floors of the hotel instead, the prosecution claims.

The businessman was already behind bars after being convicted of illegal gambling earlier this year. Though he was set to be released on June 5, he is still under detention pending these latest charges. (Yonhap)