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'Minerva' actually group of seven experts, suspect not included: magazine
SEOUL, Jan. 18 (Yonhap) -- An on-line pundit whom prosecutors suspect of spreading false rumors on the Internet related to South Korea's economy is not who he claims to be, according to the latest issue of a monthly magazine.
The February edition of the monthly Shin Donga, obtained by Yonhap News Agency on Sunday, also reported that the controversial blogger "Minerva" is in fact a group of seven experts, not including the arrested suspect, from various areas of the financial sector.
Prosecutors apprehended a 30-year-old man, identified by his surname Park, on Jan. 7, suspecting him to be Minerva, and charged him with spreading a rumor that the Ministry of Strategy and Finance ordered leading banks and trading companies not to buy U.S. dollars in late December. Park has pleaded not guilty.
Minerva gained celebrity status in South Korea among market watchers last year and later gained mainstream public attention after a commentary by the blogger was published in Shin Donga in December 2008.
Following the arrest, the veracity of Park's alleged on-line identity was called into question after Park told reporters he had not authored the magazine article.
"Minerva is in fact not a single person but a group of seven people. I authored most of the works," said an unnamed person interviewed by Shin Donga, whom the publication cites as the author of the past commentary. The February edition will hit news stands on Monday.
The interviewee, identified only by the first initial of their surname -- "K" -- said the group was "completely unaware" of who Park was, but said that he might be an acquaintance of one of the group's members.
"K" claimed to hold a job related to investment and financial consulting and to have experience at three financial institutions in the past. The interviewee said some of the postings under the name "Minerva" were written by other experts in different fields, such as foreign exchange, real estate, stocks and bonds.
"K" also claimed to have been overseas when the report that led to Park's arrest was posted, and said that he had no hand in writing it, according to the magazine.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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