Main opposition lawmaker sue 7 netizens for alleged defamation

A leading opposition lawmaker has filed a complaint with the prosecution against seven unidentified netizens for allegedly spreading false rumors about him, judicial sources said Friday.

The seven are accused of posting an article on the Internet earlier this month that Rep. Moon Jae-in of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) attempted to launder some 20 trillion won (US$19 billion) together with a former head of a public company who is a close aide to the late ex-President Roh Moo-hyun, according to the sources.

Moon, who worked as Roh's chief of staff, is the de facto leader of his party's largest faction composed of pro-Roh politicians. He also was the main opposition candidate for the last presidential election. 

The 61-year-old legislator submitted the complaint to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office on Sept. 19, the sources said, adding that the seven accused remain unidentified.

He also reported another netizen surnamed Kwon to the prosecution for spreading false rumors that he ignored suspicions of corruption by former lawmaker and South Gyeongsang governor Kim Hyuk-kyu to have him join the NPAD. Kim is now a supreme council member of the party.

The accusations are the latest in a series of legal measures taken by Moon.

Last month, he sued Rep. Ha Tae-gyeong of the ruling Saenuri Party over his Twitter message that said Moon is partly responsible for April's ferry sinking that left more than 300 people dead because he helped the ferry owner by writing off 180 billion won in debts incurred by the ferry operator while working as Roh's chief of staff.

 "He hadn't responded to online postings defaming him, thinking that's something he must endure as a politician," Moon's lawyer said. "However, he came to take legal action as excessively malignant false rumors about him spread so quickly through SNS services such as KakaoTalk."

The lawyer said Moon will keep taking legal measures against those who spread false reports about him in the future. (Yonhap)