Korean Financial Blogger Detained
We know political bloggers get harassed all the time, but this is the first I’ve heard of a financial blogger getting thrown in the can.
Park Dae Sung, 31, an unemployed blogger now finds himself in hot water for allegedly being “Minerva,” a web guru who posted his thoughts on the state of the economy and the government’s economic policies. Those thoughts generated huge attention in Korea, particularly following Minerva’s prediction that Lehman Brothers would fail. Those musings, however, have not sat well with Seoul. Now Park has been taken into custody by the government and, according to his lawyer, faces a maximum five-year prison sentence for allegedly spreading false information with the intention of harming or threatening public interest.
Park was arrested on Jan. 10 for a Dec. 29 posting in which he accused bureaucrats of ordering banks to stop buying dollars while the won was falling during last December’s global economic crisis. The official news agency Yonhap reported that Park was also arrested for a July 2008 posting that said the Finance Ministry had suspended all foreign currency exchanges. Park’s lawyer, Park Chan Jong, says prosecutors are alleging that the posting destabilized the foreign currency market to such an extent that an additional $2.2 billion injection was needed the next day to calm the market.
The Internet buff’s lawyer and supporters, including many members of the opposition party, say the purported charge is erroneous because the government, led by the Grand National Party, did indeed ask for dollar buying to be reined in.
If the Korean government’s allegations are true, then I applaud Park on his epic trolling. Any man whose mere musings cost $2.2 billion must be quite a man.
Given recent efforts to regulate content in the Philippines, Pinoy Money Talk had better watch out.
(Via Sonnie Santos.)
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That one already gave the hint why he was detained. Some top brass think he caused a huge chain reaction because of his prediction(s).
Question tho, why is it if someone predicted a new technology to show up, that person doesn’t get shares? So unfair…
But if someone predicts something negative, we get jailed for it? Ok, good thing I put down my earlier blogs where I predicted the tsunami earthquake… only HOL, LU, and dme people were aware of that old blog with the said prediction. I don’t want to get jailed because I did not warn the world.
Credit flows uphill, blame flows downhill. If Park’s mere musings brought down Lehman, then he is even more epic than the Korean government claims.
Yeah. If ever he’s jailed for that, he’ll have a reputation, a good one (or a bad one depending on how you look at it).
He’ll even become more influential if their government gives him too much credit.
The last thing a blogger would want is to have his ass jailed for what he’s written. Maybe this blogger is influential to most Korean economists who has his opinions taking his word for it. But really, it’s not like libel or anything.
I predict that this economic crisis will be severe enough for the current korean administration to collapse along with it. They must know this already. oh the fear.
Park predicted something which eventually came true! Thats an incredible service he did to his fellow countrymen.
Govt.s (all over the world) have a bunch of crooks and genetic criminals. They want to prevent and suppress the correct news (truth) reaching the masses.
The entire crisis is the “handywork” of such criminals and irresponsible governments.
Only GOD can save humanity from such criminals
You got me scared there for a bit, Mike. LOL. If ever they’ll jail me for messing up the country with my blog posts, they should first go after the people who manage the economy. Because if the Philippines is screwed up, it’s because of them and not me. Hehe.
Of course, you’ll never hear them acknowledge that. They’d rather just blame the bloggers. 😛