SKorea court clears blogger over economy rumours
Legal World
A South Korean court on Monday acquitted a blogger accused of causing the country huge financial losses by spreading misleading information on the economy.
Prosecutors had sought an 18-month prison term for Park Dae-Sung, 30 -- better known by his Internet alias "Minerva" -- while some media freedom groups criticised the decision to charge him.
Park was arrested in early January and charged with spreading online rumours that the government in late December ordered local banks not to buy dollars as part of efforts to stabilise the won.
Prosecutors claimed the December posting led to dollar hoarding, forcing the government hurriedly to inject two billion dollars to stabilise the currency market.
"Considering all the circumstances, it is hard to conclude that Park was aware the information was misleading when he wrote the postings," said Judge Yoo Young-Hyun of Seoul Central District Court.
The judge said that even if Park had realised the information was false, it cannot be concluded he intended to damage the public interest, considering the circumstances at the time or the special characteristics of the foreign exchange market.
Park wrote more than 200 economic commentaries in recent months and gained a major following after correctly predicting the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers last September.
Related listings
-
18-month sentence sought for SKorean blogger
Legal World 04/13/2009Prosecutors demanded an 18-month sentence Monday for a popular South Korean blogger who is accused of spreading false financial information in a case that has ignited a debate about freedom of speech in cyberspace. The 30-year-old blogger, a fierce c...
-
German court rules PETA Holocaust ad offensive
Legal World 03/26/2009Germany's highest court has ruled that a PETA ad campaign comparing animal slaughterhouses to the Holocaust is an offense against human dignity. The 2003 campaign used eight, 60-square-foot (5.6-sq. meter) panels depicting images of factory farms nex...
-
Sudan leader visits Eritrea despite arrest warrant
Legal World 03/23/2009Sudan's president traveled to Eritrea Monday, choosing one of Africa's most politically isolated nations for his first trip abroad since an international court sought his arrest on charges of war crimes in Darfur. Eritrean television showed live cove...
Grounds for Divorce in Ohio - Sylkatis Law, LLC
A divorce in Ohio is filed when there is typically “fault” by one of the parties and party not at “fault” seeks to end the marriage. A court in Ohio may grant a divorce for the following reasons:
• Willful absence of the adverse party for one year
• Adultery
• Extreme cruelty
• Fraudulent contract
• Any gross neglect of duty
• Habitual drunkenness
• Imprisonment in a correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint
• Procurement of a divorce outside this state by the other party
Additionally, there are two “no-fault” basis for which a court may grant a divorce:
• When the parties have, without interruption for one year, lived separate and apart without cohabitation
• Incompatibility, unless denied by either party
However, whether or not the the court grants the divorce for “fault” or not, in Ohio the party not at “fault” will not get a bigger slice of the marital property.