Two indicted for spreading rumors about late actress

SEOUL, April 23 (Yonhap) -- Prosecutors said Thursday they have indicted two
Seoul residents without detention on charges of spreading false rumors that
apparently led to the suicide of actress Choi Jin-sil in October last year.
The two -- a 35-year-old male employee of a securities company and a 25-year-old
unemployed woman -- are accused of spreading allegations over the Internet
holding Choi responsible for the September suicide of actor Ahn Jae-hwan by
pressuring him to repay huge personal debts to her.
Choi, a fixture of Korean prime-time television dramas spanning more than two
decades, killed herself at her southern Seoul apartment last October, prompting
her family to claim her suicide was largely caused by the groundless online
rumors.
The man is accused of receiving an Internet memo containing a rumor about Choi
last September and relaying it to about 150 netizens, including the indicted
woman who in turn posted the rumor on the bulletin board of her online community.
The woman had also worked for a securities company in Seoul but quit after Choi's
suicide.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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