A special prosecution team on Monday requested a court warrant to arrest a former senior prosecutor on the charge of abuse of power in a sexual misconduct probe.

The special probe team filed for the writ against Ahn Tae-geun, who is accused of groping a junior colleague during a funeral dinner in October 2010. He is also suspected of using his influence to have her transferred to a position outside of Seoul five years later, after she raised the issue with the prosecution's internal inspection office.

But prosecutors are seeking to charge him with abuse of authority, since the statute of limitations has expired for the sexual misconduct allegations.

Seo Ji-hyeon, a district attorney, made the revelation in a television news interview in January and filed a formal complaint with the prosecution.

The request for an arrest warrant for Ahn comes on the heels of a prosecution committee's recommendation for his indictment. On Friday, the committee tasked with reviewing the probe concluded it is appropriate to seek to formally charge him.

The prosecution has questioned Ahn over his role in the suspected unjustified transfer of Seo's post. He has said he does not remember the incident and strongly denied he pulled strings to have her moved to the current post.

Ahn will likely be arraigned as early as Wednesday. (Yonhap)