South Korean blogger acquitted

A South Korean court acquitted a blogger charged with spreading false information on the internet under a mysterious pseudonym, in a high-profile case that sparked heated debate over freedom of speech in cyberspace.

Park Dae Sung, 30, an unemployed Seoul resident, was acquitted by the Seoul Central District Court. Judge Yoo Young Hyeon said he could not see that Park "had the intention to undermine public interest" or that he "realised the contents of the articles in question that he wrote were completely false".

Park, writing under the pen name "Minerva", caused a sensation in South Korea last year by denouncing the Government's handling of the economy and making largely negative predictions.

Prosecutors accused him of falsely writing that the Government had banned major financial institutions and trade businesses from buying US dollars, and indicted him in January.