Prosecutors said Tuesday they have sought fines and asked for summary judgments against two of their own on charges of copying and circulating a digital photo of a female suspect who had sex with a trainee prosecutor during questioning.
The scandal centers around allegations that a trainee prosecutor engaged in sexual acts with a suspect charged with theft during questioning at his office last year. A photo of the 42-year-old suspect later spread through the Internet and the woman asked police to look into who had leaked and circulated the photo.
The two incumbent Seoul prosecutors, whose identities were withheld, face fines ranging from 3 million won ($2,757) to 5 million won for making the digital photo and sending it to others outside of the prosecution, in violation of the personal data protection act, they said.
Last month, police handed over a list of two prosecutors and three other prosecution officials to the prosecution, with a recommendation that they be indicted.
Prosecutors said Tuesday they have also demanded a fine of 5 million won for one prosecution official for circulating the photo over the mobile messenger service Kakao Talk.
Prosecutors, however, said they have not brought charges against two other prosecution officials.
Police, meanwhile, denounced the prosecution's move as covering up for their own and again voiced concern over the prosecution's sole right to indict suspects.
By law, police can initiate preliminary investigations on their own but should be under the supervision of prosecutors. Also, the prosecution can seek to oversee any investigation and has the sole right to charge suspects.
The trainee prosecutor at the center of the scandal is currently standing trial. (Yonhap News)
