By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter

A Seoul court Thursday upheld a prosecution decision to arrest blogger Park Dae-sung, better known as ``Minerva,'' rejecting a petition by Park's lawyers to release him.

Judge Huh Man, who reviewed the petition, said in a statement, ``Issuing the arrest warrant was appropriate since the accused had spread false economic information that apparently undermined the public interest.''

The decision came nearly seven hours after the court's final questioning of the blogger, who was arrested Saturday for allegedly destabilizing the foreign currency market here by spreading ``groundless'' allegations.

In response to the rejection, Park's lawyers said it was a ``regrettable decision.''

The ruling Grand National Party hailed the decision, saying ``malicious rumormonger should be punished,'' while opposition parties criticized the court for serving as a rubber stamp for the government's efforts to suppress the freedom of expression.

Arriving at the Seoul Central District Court around 10:30 a.m., a weary-looking Minerva in blue prison uniform and handcuffs quickly moved to a courtroom to answer questions, making no comment to reporters. The hearing ended around noon.

Following the questioning, lawyer Park Jae-seung, a former president of the Korean Bar Association, told reporters, ``Park seemed nervous.'' ``He has been arrested for no reason. If his detention continues, it will further undermine international confidence in the country.''

Another lawyer, Park Chan-jong, a former lawmaker, said he had expected Minerva to be released.

``At the time of Park's detention, it was unconfirmed whether the Finance Ministry had pressured foreign currency dealers here not to buy dollars to stop the Korean currency's fall against the greenback. But now it has been confirmed. Therefore, Park's Dec. 29 article delivered correct information,'' he said.

Rep. Lee Jong-kul of the largest opposition Democratic Party, who also took part in the hearing as an observer, speculated that multiple bloggers using the same ID as Minerva had posted negative articles on the future of the Korean economy, saying, ``The ID, Minerva, is available to multiple bloggers online.''

All the hearing participants said that Park was unsure whether he had penned nearly 280 online articles written under the pseudonym Minerva.

The 31-year-old was accused by the prosecution of destabilizing the nation's currency market by spreading false information online.

Among hundreds of articles posted on Daum's Agora site by Minerva, prosecutors are targeting a Dec. 29 posting in which Park accused bureaucrats of writing a letter to local bankers to persuade them not to buy dollars so as to raise the value of the won.

Prosecutors said Monday that news accounts of his anonymous posting had led to a plunge in the value of the won that forced the government to intervene in trading.

pss@koreatimes.co.kr