Prosecutors seek 18-month jail term for controversial online pundit

SEOUL, April 13 (Yonhap) -- Prosecutors on Monday sought an 18-month jail sentence for an influential online pundit arrested earlier this year for allegedly spreading misleading information on the government's economic policies.

Park Dae-sung, 30, better known by his Internet alias "Minerva," was arrested in
early January and was indicted on charges of spreading on-line rumors that the
government ordered local banks not to buy U.S. dollars in late December as part
of efforts to stabilize the local currency.
The prosecution claims the December posting led to dollar hoarding, forcing the
government to hurriedly inject US$2 billion to stabilize the currency market.
Minerva's sensational postings gained influence after he accurately predicted the
collapse of U.S. lending giant Lehman Brothers last year. He followed up with a
series of pieces criticizing the government's economic policies, which spread
quickly through the Internet in one of the world's most wired nations.
The sensation surrounding Minerva even led to one magazine unknowingly running an
interview with a fake Minerva. The parent newspaper of the magazine later issued
an apology.
odissy@yna.co.kr