Minerva Concerned Over Future
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
The arrested online commentator Park Dae-sung, known as ``Minerva,'' said that he is afraid that he would not be able to lead a normal life after all the incidents happening around him, his attorney said.
Park, 31, Monday confided his feelings to attorney Park Chan-jong, a former lawmaker who will defend the blogger free of charge. The attorney made public the contents of conversations on his blog the following day.
He was quoted as saying that ``I'm neither a politician nor a serial killer. Frankly, I'm scared. It's scary that I should talk with my hands handcuffed.''
He said he believed his writings would not cause such a big fuss in other mediums. ``It's so burdensome that online writings can develop into a political incident.''
`Minerva' also said that he has never invested a penny in stocks, indicating that he has never gained anything from his comments on the Internet. ``I've never invested even 10 won in stocks. If I had invested in a stock, the prosecution would have included it on the arrest warrant.''
In the meantime, a court will review whether the arrest of online commentator Minerva was justifiable as his attorney Tuesday filed a petition to ask the court to review the legality of confinement of ``Minerva,'' who has been detained since Saturday.
Lawyer Kim Jung-bum lodged the petition with the Seoul Central District Court, a court official said. The court will review whether the arrest was appropriate or not in three days.
If the court accepts the petition, the popular blogger, accused of destabilizing the nation's currency market by spreading false information, will be released immediately.
Among hundreds of articles posted on Daum's Agora site, prosecutors are targeting his writings posted on Dec. 29. He claimed the government had issued an emergency statement banning major banks here from buying dollars to help stop the Korean currency's further fall against the greenback.