By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
Twenty-four Internet users have been indicted or fined for urging companies to stop advertising in newspapers.
All of them were members of an online community opposed to three major conservative newspapers ― The Chosun Ilbo, The JoongAng Ilbo and The Dong-a Ilbo.
Prosecutors indicted two bloggers Friday who operated the community at Daum with physical detention on charges of interfering with the newspapers business.
Fourteen other members were indicted without detention, while another eight were fined between three million and five million won each.
``Several members have operated the community in turn, but those who opened the community and instigated the movement were punished,'' a prosecutor said.
Most members were office workers or college students, while one was an elementary school teacher and another a chief researcher at a conglomerate.
A group of attorneys representing them denounced the prosecution's move, however, calling the unprecedented indictment of online activists an infringement on freedom of speech. The members say they will continue their consumer activism.
The members uploaded lists of companies placing ads in the three newspapers. The three dailies were critical of candlelight protests against American beef imports. Using the lists, many Internet users pressured companies to stop running ads by threatening to boycott their products.
One of the two bloggers arrested put the lists on the community site dozens of times. As Daum banned uploading the lists following the government's request, the other blogger put the lists on a Google site, which authorities could not inspect, and provided a link to the site through the community's Web site.
Two office workers were also indicted without physical detention for operating a program that automatically accessed the homepage of a travel agency that advertised in the newspapers, paralyzing the site due to heavy traffic.
Internet users then denounced the travel agency after it and several advertisers filed a complaint with prosecutors against the boycotters.
Thousands of additional bloggers also took part in the campaign, but prosecutors gave up going after them given their sheer numbers.