A Japanese reporter has been acquitted of defamation in South Korea over a report speculating on the whereabouts of President Park Geun-hye at the time of a high-profile ferry accident in 2014.
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Prosecutors a year ago indicted Tatsuya Kato of Japan’s conservative Sankei Shimbun newspaper over the article that listed rumors that Park was absent for seven hours during the disaster that killed more than 300 people, mostly teenagers. Kato’s piece allegedly referred to rumours that appeared on Korean media outlets, suggesting that President Park’s apparent absence was due to a secret meeting with a former male aide, with whom she was allegedly romantically involved.
Tatsuya Kato was found guilty of defaming Park in article based on groundless rumours.
‘The defendant’s article was inappropriate to some degree but it falls under the freedom of the press in a democratic society considering it was written to serve public interest, ‘ the district court judge was quoted as saying by Yonhap News Agency.
The case drew criticism from media and human rights watchdogs over Park’s stance on freedom of the press and fuelled worry that the legal system could be used to stifle political opposition.
Prosecutors were asking for an 18-month prison term.
The Seoul Central District Court on Thursday delivered the verdict, exonerating the reporter from the Japanese daily.
The Japanese journalist held a press conference in Seoul after the ruling and said the verdict was a “natural decision”, adding that he hoped the prosecution would not appeal the decision, Kyodo News reported.
“IPI welcomes Mr. Kato’s acquittal a ruling which sets a positive precedent in South Korea”, IPI Executive Director Barbara Trionfi said.
There was no immediate comment from prosecutors as to whether they would appeal, but they are widely expected to do so. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Cho Joon-hyuk told reporters Thursday that the memorandum cited the Japanese government’s request for favorable arrangements and called for consideration of improved Seoul-Tokyo relations.
The ministry noted that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the normalisation of diplomatic relations between the two neighbouring countries and their ever-frozen ties now showed signs of thawing.
Many South Koreans still resent Japan’s harsh colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945.
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“To the Japanese government, we made it clear that Korea expects such reports of clearly false rumors not to pose a burden on Korea-Japan relations again”, a senior official at Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said on the customary condition of anonymity.
