Two prosecutors have been arrested for interfering in a prosecution investigation into the spy agency's alleged political meddling under the Lee Myung-bak government, a Seoul court said Tuesday.
The Seoul Central District Court issued warrants for Chang Ho-joong, former chief prosecutor at the Busan District Prosecutors' Office, and Lee Je-young, former prosecutor of the Daejeon High Prosecutors' Office, on charges of obstruction of justice and subornation of perjury.
"Their criminal charges are explained and there is concern of destroying evidence," the court said. Prosecutors filed for the writs on Thursday.
They are accused of taking part in a scheme to cover up massive cyberoperations led by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) aimed at meddling in domestic politics, when the prosecution launched a probe into them in 2013. They had been dispatched to the spy agency as legal advisors.
They allegedly set up bogus cyberoperation offices, made fake documents to conceal NIS agents' political activities, and instructed cyberteam crews to lie to the prosecution and court.
Byun Chang-hoon, another prosecutor who faced an arrest for his involvement in the scheme, jumped to his death from a building on Monday. All of them have been demoted to lower-level posts since they became subjects in the investigation.
The court also approved arrest warrants for two former NIS officials, including Suh Cheon-ho, then chief of the domestic affairs division, on similar charges.
