South Korean blogger cleared of spreading false information
Unemployed Seoul man who called himself Minerva gained reputation as a prophet with economic predictions
A South Korean court today acquitted a blogger charged with spreading false information on the internet under a mysterious pseudonym, in a high-profile case that sparked heated debate over freedom of speech in cyberspace.
Park Dae-sung, 30, an unemployed Seoul resident, was acquitted by the Seoul central district court. Judge Yoo Young-hyeon said he could not see that Park "had the intention to undermine public interest" or that he "realised the contents of the articles in question that he wrote were completely false".
Park, writing anonymously under the pen name "Minerva" after the Greek goddess of wisdom, caused a sensation and gained a reputation as an economic prophet in South Korea last year by denouncing the government's handling of the economy and making largely negative predictions. Some, including the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers, proved correct, helping create interest in his online postings and adding to his aura of mystery.
A mixture of law, politics, autobiography and humour. Once described as "The Devilish Advocate" (Guardian), I do have the ability to provoke a response. Sometimes it comes from someone who uses a thought process, and sometimes from jerks usually associated with the knee.
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