In August a year ago, Tatsuya Kato – the former Seoul bureau chief of Japan’s Sankei Shimbun newspaper – reported on the whereabouts of president Park when the deadly Sewol-ho ferry sank off Korea’s southwestern coast, killing more than 300 people.
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“Now that the burden caused by the indictment has been removed, we expect it to be an opportunity for improved ties between South Korea and Japan going forward”, a ministry official was quoted as saying by news agency Yonhap. Ties between the countries have worsened since the 2012 inauguration of hawkish Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who many South Koreans see as trying to whitewash Japan’s colonial and wartime abuses.
A Seoul court said today Mr Kato’s article had damaged Ms Park’s reputation as an individual, but accepted his argument that it was meant to serve public interest, finding him not guilty of the charge.
The Sankei – a center-right daily – has suggested it was being singled out by South Korean authorities for its campaign to reverse a Japanese apology for forcing Korean women into brothels during World War II.
“I hold hopes that it will have a positive effect on Japan-South Korea relations”. The talks, led by South Korean Second Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin, will be held in Seoul next Tuesday, the South Korean ministry said in a release. “The court apparently handed down the ruling taking it into consideration”. “We agreed to meet again in Seoul as soon as possible to continue our deliberations”, Lee told reporters after the meeting, which lasted for about three hours.
Both prosecutors and Kato have one week to appeal following the ruling by the Seoul Central District Court, according to court spokesman Joon Young Maeng.
The two governments have issued similar statements in a rare move, showing their determination to improve relations in a year that marks the 50th anniversary of the normalization of bilateral ties.
It was unclear if such a request made any difference on the verdict. The two sides are seeking an early resolution of the issue.
Analysts say Japan and South Korea could reduce carbon emissions by much more than they pledged in Paris.
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By handing down the not-guilty ruling, the court has performed its check function against improper criminal prosecutions.
