Intellectual Property Law

A south Korean blogger was acquitted Monday of spreading false information in a widely-watched case about internet free speech that could have sent him to prison for 18 months.

Reuters reported from Seoul that the court threw out charges Park Dae-sung had intentionally depressed market sentiment by posting false information on his blog. "Even if there was recognition that it was false information, he cannot be seen as having acted on purpose to harm public interest considering the situation at the time including the special nature of the foreign exchange market," the court told Reuters by telephone.

The move against the blogger, known as "Minerva" in the online world, came two weeks after the country became the first democratic nation to adopt a "three strikes" law targeting online copyright scofflaws. Repeat online copyright offenders face having their internet access cut off.

Park, who predicted the collapse of Lehman Bros. last year, was charged after a post which, while false, prosecutors said, prompted the government to inject billions of dollars to stabilize the Korean won.

His case sparked a debate about the rights of bloggers to be indemnified against prosecution when they are wrong, but unintentionally so. Some saw Park's arrest as an attempt by the South Korean government to stifle a persistent critic; in some 280 posts on a popular site he made negative comments about the government and dire economic predictions.

See Also:

• Blogger Critical of South Korea Faces 18 Months in Prison
• AT&T, Comcast Deny RIAA '3 Strikes' Participation
• French Reject '3 Strikes' Piracy Measure
• Top Internet Providers Cool to RIAA 3-Strikes Plan
• ISP Agrees to Ban Copyright Scofflaws
• Russia Charges Blogger for Inciting Police Hatred
• A-list Blogger Jason Calacanis Morphs into the Department of
• RIAA Decries Attorney-Blogger as 'Vexatious' Litigator
• The Shield Law: Truth or Fear Mongering?
• Hacking Like it's 1999
• Kevin Mitnick Tells All in Upcoming Book ? Promises No Whining