Minerva

Minerva (미네르바) is the Internet username of a "netizen" who wrote about the Korean economy and the economic policies of the Korean government.

Minerva's writing evoked the ire of the Korean government, when an entry precipitated a run on the South Korean won.

Prosecutors arrested a man they claim to be Minerva, Park Dae-sung, and charged him with the crime of electronically spreading false rumors that damage the public good.

The true identity of Minerva, however, remains to be established.

The arrest has also drawn international scrutiny.

Minerva posted articles in Daum Agora, one of the largest Internet debate bulletin boards in South Korea, from March 2008 to January 2009.

Minerva has successfully predicted major events in the Korean economy and was quick to provide solutions for both the government and households.

Despite his warnings, the Korean government's economic policies remained controversial, with Minerva becoming one of the most influential critics of the government's policies.

It was under this background that Minerva became known as "the Internet Economic President."

Among the famous predictions Minerva has made were: the collapse of Lehman Brothers and its potential consequences, and the sharp decline of South Korean currency value against the U.S. dollar at specified time points.

Minerva expressed concerns over the planned takeover of Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. by the Korean Development Bank (KDB).

This was well before the financial instability of the US investment bank was known to the public.

An article was posted by Minerva on December 29, 2008, in the economy section of Daum Agora bulletin boards.

The article claimed that the Korean government issued an urgent directive to major financial companies and explicitly mentioned a ban on purchase of U.S. dollars.

The Korean Ministry of Strategy and Finance quickly made a statement denying any such move from the government.

The Agora post was initially screened from viewing by Daum and was later removed by the author.

Minerva responded with an apology for the article.

It was that article that prosecutors are said to be motivated to arrest Minerva.

They have regarded it as a false rumor.

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Translation of the text is:

According to him, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance called staff members of the seven main banks into a meeting at the Korea Federation of Banks in Myeong-dong on December 26, 2008.

In the meeting, the authority asked them for self-restraint in purchasing dollars.

Lee Seok-Hyeon said he heard this directly from a man who was at the meeting.

Foreign bloggers writing about Korea have cast doubt about the government's handling of the opinionated blogger.

Some express concerns that this would mean demise of freedom of speech in Korea.

On November 11, 2008, Maeil Business Newspaper quoted a government intelligence source on the identity of Minerva.

On January 7, 2009, prosecutors arrested a suspect believed to be Minerva for "spreading false rumors on the Internet".

The prosecutors announced the anonymous blogger economist was a 30-year-old unemployed man.

On April 20, 2009 Park Dae-sung was acquitted and released from jail.

The reasoning of the court was that if any of the statements he made were false, he did not know they were false.

However, South Korean law allows the prosecution to appeal the acquittal, and they are doing so.

The appeal is expected to be ruled upon in the winter of 2009–10.

There are many doubts and criticisms surrounding the arrest.

For example, the law (Electronic Communication Fundamental Law, ) Minerva is known to have violated is possibly unconstitutional.

Minbyun, Korean Lawyers for a Democratic Society (민주사회를위한변호사모임) argued that though it is about the criminal penalty, the clause is vague, which is against the Law of Clearance, meaning that the law about crime must be clearly declared for people to understand it, derived from Nulla poena sine lege, thus this clause is probably unconstitutional.

And Korea University Lawschool Professor Park Kyung-Sin said "The most effective way to oppose rumors, which seem false, is not punishment to the speaker, but ensurance of the freedom of expression."

Many people doubt whether the writings of Minerva are obviously false.

There is evidence indicating that the government did control the exchange rate.

Lee Seok-Hyeon, a congressman of Democratic Party, argued that the government actually did request banks to restrain from buying dollars.