ID :
22684
Sun, 10/05/2008 - 20:54
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/22684
The shortlink copeid
Actress suicide prompts S. Korea to tighten grip on online rumor mongers
SEOUL, Oct. 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's police said Sunday it will launch a month-long crackdown on online defamation from next week following the suicide of a star actress whose death has been blamed on malicious Internet rumors.
The National Police Agency said it will mobilize 900 investigators to crack down
on Internet users who spread false, vicious rumors, police said.
Web portals will be required to strengthen their controls over their contents and
to block access to postings for 30 days should questions be raised over the
veracity of their content, or if someone should file a libel suit over an entry,
police said.
The move follows the suicide of one of the country's most famous actresses, Choi
Jin-sil, who was found dead at her home Thursday morning. The 40-year-old star
was found hanging from an elastic band tied to a shower stall.
Police said she had suffered deeply from rumors that linked her to the recent
suicide of another actor, Ahn Jae-hwan, claiming she had lent him a substantial
sum of money as his business faltered.
Ahn was under pressure from loan sharks before his death, according to
investigators.
Suicide of singer Yoo Na, who killed herself last year, was also linked to
Internet rumors over her plastic surgery.
The ruling Grand National Party (GNP) reaffirmed Sunday it will push for
legislation against online libel during the current parliamentary session,
despite fierce opposition from the rival Democratic Party (DP) who charge such
legislation will only undermine freedom of speech.
"We will press hard to pass the Cyber Defamation Law and the real-name system,"
Hong Joon-pyo, GNP's floor leader, told reporters Sunday. "It is wrong to neglect
the fact that violence is rampant online, due to the anonymity."
Opposition lawmakers, in a statement Sunday, said the ruling party's move is a
government guise to take control over Internet media.
"The existing law against cyber defamation already allows punishment on online
libel," they said. "Introducing a new legislation is a blatant threat against
netizens not to engage in anti-government Internet activities."
The online community has been one of the most active public medium as South
Koreans took to the streets for months to protest the government decision to
resume U.S. beef imports. The pressure forced President Lee Myung-bak to
apologize twice and his administration to reopen beef negotiations with the U.S.
ygkim@yna.co.kr
The National Police Agency said it will mobilize 900 investigators to crack down
on Internet users who spread false, vicious rumors, police said.
Web portals will be required to strengthen their controls over their contents and
to block access to postings for 30 days should questions be raised over the
veracity of their content, or if someone should file a libel suit over an entry,
police said.
The move follows the suicide of one of the country's most famous actresses, Choi
Jin-sil, who was found dead at her home Thursday morning. The 40-year-old star
was found hanging from an elastic band tied to a shower stall.
Police said she had suffered deeply from rumors that linked her to the recent
suicide of another actor, Ahn Jae-hwan, claiming she had lent him a substantial
sum of money as his business faltered.
Ahn was under pressure from loan sharks before his death, according to
investigators.
Suicide of singer Yoo Na, who killed herself last year, was also linked to
Internet rumors over her plastic surgery.
The ruling Grand National Party (GNP) reaffirmed Sunday it will push for
legislation against online libel during the current parliamentary session,
despite fierce opposition from the rival Democratic Party (DP) who charge such
legislation will only undermine freedom of speech.
"We will press hard to pass the Cyber Defamation Law and the real-name system,"
Hong Joon-pyo, GNP's floor leader, told reporters Sunday. "It is wrong to neglect
the fact that violence is rampant online, due to the anonymity."
Opposition lawmakers, in a statement Sunday, said the ruling party's move is a
government guise to take control over Internet media.
"The existing law against cyber defamation already allows punishment on online
libel," they said. "Introducing a new legislation is a blatant threat against
netizens not to engage in anti-government Internet activities."
The online community has been one of the most active public medium as South
Koreans took to the streets for months to protest the government decision to
resume U.S. beef imports. The pressure forced President Lee Myung-bak to
apologize twice and his administration to reopen beef negotiations with the U.S.
ygkim@yna.co.kr
