Man in His 30s Under Probe for Spreading Groundless Rumors
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
Prosecutors apprehended an online commentator known as ``Minerva,'' Thursday, for alleged violation of information and telecommunication laws. Minerva has been a vocal online critic of the government's economic and financial policies.
The Seoul Central Public Prosecutors Office said it was investigating a man identified by his family name Park, who had posted a lot of articles on portal site www.daum.net's Agora page under the ID Minerva on suspicion of spreading groundless rumors. The investigative body will seek to file for an arrest warrant soon.
According to prosecutors, Minerva identified himself as an elderly man who had worked at foreign securities firms to explain his economic knowledge. However, the man the team caught Wednesday was a plain man in his 30s who apparently never had a job related to the business and had gleaned the information on his own.
``If the man is indicted, it will be all about the false information he spread on Dec. 29,'' a prosecutor told reporters.
The prosecution is seeking his arrest over allegations he made that the government had requested financial firms and major corporations to stop purchasing dollars, Dec. 29. The government said this was false information and would take legal action against it.
``He graduated from a two-year vocational college,'' the prosecutor said. ``He currently has no particular job.''
Minerva became famous after his prediction of the fall of Lehman Brothers and the plunge of the won against the dollar. His name was mentioned on MBC TV's prime time news program and Finance Minister Kang Man-soo also said he would like to have a ``face to face, down to earth talk'' with him.
He ruled the online world with the monikers ``online oracle'' or ``faceless president of economy.''
Asked whether he is the genuine Minerva, the prosecutor said, ``He is claiming that he wrote the article on Dec. 29 and all the others.''
The prosecution is investigating whether there are several more people writing economic critiques under the ID Minerva, he said.
[출처 : 코리아타임스]
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