SEOUL, July 6 (Xinhua) -- South Korean Prime Minister Chung Un-chan has offered his resignation while meeting with President Lee Myung-bak on Saturday, taking responsibility for the failure to gain parliamentary approval for the contentious Sejong city revision bill, Seoul's Yonhap News Agency reported Tuesday.

Chung expressed his strong intention to step down during an one- on-one meeting with the president on Saturday, though the latter asked him to stay in office, Yonhap said, citing an unnamed senior official at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.

Chung, a former college professor who was appointed to the top Cabinet job last September, has been a leading advocate of Sejong project, the alternative development plan.