A female criminal suspect, accused of offering sex to a prosecutor questioning her in return for leniency, sued three people for circulating her photo on the Internet, the woman's lawyer said Thursday.

A photo of the 42-year-old woman began to spread on the Internet when the sex scandal was reported by news media in late November. More photos of her were later put online.

The woman asked the police to investigate those who had leaked and circulated her photo on Nov. 28 for the first time, the lawyer said.

According to the Seocho Police Station probing the case, many of those netizens suspected of leaking the photos are prosecutors or law officials working for them. They are believed to have downloaded the photos from the prosecution's computerized database, police investigators said.

Some of those netizens told the police that they had circulated the photos for "fun."

Police said summonses have been issued for 10 prosecutors and 14 officials working for them to appear for questioning.

"It is really deplorable that the woman's photo was allegedly leaked by the investigation authority," her lawyer said.

The lawyer added that his client will sue the three people who initially circulated her photo first on defamation charges. He said her photos online were accompanied by many defamatory comments.

The scandal centers around a 30-year-old prosecutor, surnamed Jeon, who allegedly had engaged in sexual activity with the woman while questioning her about a theft case. The trainee prosecutor apparently had sex with the woman at a motel two days later.

The scandal has dealt another heavy blow to the prosecution that has already been battered by massive bribery scandal involving a senior prosecutor.

A team of prosecutors investigating the case said they will soon indict the trainee prosecutor on bribery charges, saying the sex was provided as a bribe.