Prosecutors said Sunday that they have sought an arrest warrant for a former senior intelligence official on charges of obstruction of justice over a probe into the spy agency's alleged election meddling.

The former official, identified by his family name Moon, wa detained Friday for making up a fake office of the psychological warfare squad of the National Intelligence Service in 2013 to avoid a prosecution raid of the squad's real office, an official of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said.

Moon, who handled national interest intelligence at the agency, is also accused of suborning the perjury of officials over the 2013 prosecution investigation into the election meddling scandal.

A Seoul court is expected to determine Monday whether to approve a warrant for the Moon's arrest.

The NIS is suspected to have carried out an online smear campaign against then-liberal candidate Moon Jae-in to sway votes in favor of his opponent, Park Geun-hye of the conservative ruling party, before the 2012 election. Park won the vote by a thin margin. (Yonhap)