South Korean Blogger Acquitted

April 20, 2009

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CorrectionOn the air and in earlier Web versions, we said that the blogger wrote under the name "Minerva, after the Greek goddess of wisdom." In fact, Minerva was the Roman name for the Greek goddess Athena.

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April 20, 2009

A South Korean blogger was cleared Monday of spreading false information in a case that sparked debate over freedom of speech in cyberspace. Park Dae-sung used the pseudonym "Minerva" after the Roman goddess of wisdom. He predicted sharp falls in the Korean stock market and the collapse of the U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers.

RENEE MONTAGNE, host:

NPR's business news starts with a court verdict in favor of a South Korean blogger.

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MONTAGNE: That blogger, Park Dae-sung, became quite the sensation last year when he made some dire and accurate forecasts about where the world's financial markets were heading. For example, he correctly predicted the demise of the U.S. investment bank, Lehman Brothers. Park wrote anonymously under the pen name, Minerva after the Greek goddess of wisdom. But in January, South Korean authorities charged him with spreading false information about the way the government was handling the economic crisis. Today in a development likely to add to his reputation, Park was acquitted in the closely watched case. [POST-BROADCAST CORRECTION: Minerva was the Roman name for the goddess of wisdom.]

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