Complaint Filed Against Fake Minerva
By Cho Jae-hyon
Staff Reporter
Park Dae-sung, better known by his Internet alias ``Minerva,'' filed a defamation complaint with the police, Tuesday, against a man who acted as if he was the real Minerva.
Park Chan-jong, the lawyer for the blogger, said Minerva filed the complaint with the Seocho Police Station in southern Seoul against the unidentified man for defaming him by contributing articles to a magazine under the name of Minerva.
In its December and February editions, Shin Dong-A, a monthly magazine unit of the daily Dong-A Ilbo, published an interview with someone who claimed to be one of seven experts behind Minerva's postings, along with articles contributed by someone using the pen name Minerva. The magazine later admitted that the contributor was not the real Minerva and made a public apology.
``The man damaged Park's reputation by stealing the name Minerva,'' the lawyer said, adding Minerva wants a police probe into the defamation case.
It remains unknown who used the name as the magazine has kept mum about the identity of the bogus contributor.
The lawyer said Park will lodge a separate complaint against an Internet cafe manager who allegedly published Park's articles in a book and reaped illegal gains without his consent.
Born in 1976, Minerva gained fame among Internet users by forecasting the collapse of Lehman Brothers and critically commenting on the Korean government's foreign exchange and economic policies at the height of the global financial meltdown.
His writings spread quickly through the Internet, raising curiosity about his identity. His negative comments on the Korean economy also angered top policymakers at that time.
Park was arrested at the end of last year on charges of spreading false rumors about the government's foreign currency policy. The prosecution argued his postings led to dollar hoarding, costing the government $2 billion to stabilize the currency market. He was acquitted by a local court in April.