Military prosecutors sought warrants on Friday to arrest two Marine Corps major generals on charges of making false accusations about their top commander, defense ministry officials said.

The two major generals, identified only by their initials P and H, have been under an investigation since early this month for allegedly spreading false rumors about the Marine commander, Lt. Gen. Yoo Nak-joon.

According to defense ministry officials, the two suspects were accused of spreading groundless allegations that Yoo was promoted to the post last June by giving bribes to influential politicians.

They were also suspected of ordering one of their subordinates to report the false allegations to the defense ministry, according to the officials.

One of the major generals was relieved of his duty on Saturday, officials said.

The court will rule Tuesday on whether to arrest the two generals with detention. 

(Yonhap News)