Leading newspaper apologizes for interview with bogus blogger

SEOUL, Feb. 17 (Yonhap) -- A leading South Korean newspaper apologized Tuesday
for its sister magazine's interview with a man who pretended to be Minerva, the
jailed online pundit who drew national attention for his critical analysis of the
Korean economy.
The conservative Dong-a Ilbo ran the front-page apology for stories published by
its monthly magazine, Shin Dong-A, under the name Minerva. The paper said a man
identified only by the initial K had given an interview and contributed an
article to the magazine under the false alias.
The real Minerva, a 30-year-old resident of Seoul whose last name is Park, was
arrested in early January and was indicted on charges of spreading an on-line
rumor that the government ordered local banks not to buy U.S. dollars in late
December as part efforts to stabilize the local currency.
Minerva's sensational postings, one of which accurately predicted the collapse of
U.S. lending giant Lehman Brothers, gained widespread popularity in South Korea,
one of the world's most wired nations.
Shin Dong-A had cited the interview with the man falsely claiming to be Minerva
to raise questions over whether Park, the suspect in custody, was in fact the
real Minerva. The magazine claimed that Minerva was actually a group of seven
financial market experts, none of whom was Park.
In its apology, the Dong-a Ilbo said it had determined that K was not the real
Minerva through an internal "confirmation process," adding that it has formed an
internal panel, which included outside legal and media experts, to investigate
the erroneous interview.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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