Netizens get suspended terms for campaign against dailies, advertisers

SEOUL, Feb. 19 (Yonhap) -- A Seoul court sentenced two netizens to suspended
prison terms on Thursday for initiating a boycott against companies placing ads
in newspapers that were critical of protests against U.S. beef.

The leader of the campaign, identified only by the surname Lee, was sentenced to
10 months in prison with a two-year suspension for opening a Web site promoting a
public boycott of products from the companies. Another defendant who managed the
Web site was sentenced to six months, also with a two-year suspension.
"While the Constitution allows consumer rights campaigns, their means and methods
must be just," the Seoul Central District Court said in its ruling. "The conduct
of the defendants lacked justness."
In an online forum created last year on Daum, the nation's No. 2 Internet portal,
netizens called for companies to cancel ad placements with the nation's three
leading dailies -- the Chosun Ilbo, the Joong-Ang Ilbo and the Dong-A Ilbo --
that were critical of demonstrations opposing the government's decision last year
to resume U.S. beef imports.
The three dailies are said to account for 60 percent of the nation's newspaper
market.
The lifting of the import ban, imposed in 2003 following the discovery of mad cow
disease at a U.S. cattle farm, sparked sharp confrontation between conservative
and liberal media in the country as protests continued for months last year,
challenging the fledgling Lee Myung-bak administration.
"Operators of the forum allowed companies that had no intention of stopping their
newspaper advertisements to become prime targets, and intensified pressure
through forum members. This constitutes restricting the free will of the
advertisers," the court said.
Nineteen members of the online forum were fined 1-3 million won.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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