By Lee Ji-hye
A woman who was accused of giving false information during an interview about the Sewol ferry disaster rescue operation last April has sued her online critics, the Donga Ilbo reports.
Hong Ga-hye, 27, sued 839 online critics between October and December l last year, and is working with a lawyer demanding two to five million won, according to the prosecution.
"I felt humiliated after the terrible comments that were made about me online, so I sued them," Hong was quoted as saying. She said she had never asked them for a specific amount, but it was the critics who had pleaded to settle.
Hong was found not guilty on January 9 after the Coast Guard sued her for defamation for stating on air that "coast guards are blocking civilian divers carrying out rescue operations by telling them to simply kill time near the site."
Hong was interviewed on the Maeil Broadcasting Network (MBN) and said that personnel and equipment support that was to be given to civilian divers never came.