Arrested blogger claims telecom law flawed, files complaint

SEOUL, Jan. 28 (Yonhap) -- An influential blogger arrested on charges of spreading false information on the government's economic policy filed a complaint on Wednesday claiming that the nation's telecommunications law under which he was arrested is flawed, and his arrest groundless.

The 30-year-old surnamed Park, better known as "Minerva," was arrested earlier
this month over a December blog entry that claimed the government had ordered
local financial institutions to stop buying U.S. dollars to prevent a sharp
depreciation of the won.
The Seoul Central District Court said that through his attorneys, Park filed a
request for judges to examine whether Clause 1 of Article 47 of the nation's
telecommunications act is unconstitutional.
The clause states that a person may be sentenced to a maximum of five years in
jail or fined a maximum of 50 million won (US$36,418) for spreading false
information with the intention of "damaging the public interest" via
telecommunication infrastructures.
The defendant questioned the ambiguity of the concept of the "public interest"
and also raised the issue that not all who spread misleading information are
arrested, according to the court.
Park's lawyers also claimed that the blogger's post wasn't groundless, saying
they confirmed that government officials did indeed request institutions to
restrain from buying dollars.
Minerva quickly gained popularity among netizens after accurately predicting the
collapse of the U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings and the decline of
the local currency. The blogger wrote hundreds of posts analyzing the financial
crisis and harshly criticized the government's approach to economic policy.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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