Japanese journalist faces defamation charges in Seoul over ferry report

[DefJam]

Japanese journalist faces defamation charges in Seoul over ferry report

Ex-Seoul bureau chief accused of defamation over ferry tragedy report about president

PUBLISHED : Thursday, 09 October, 2014, 5:31am
UPDATED : Thursday, 09 October, 2014, 5:31am

Associated Press in Seoul

Tatsuya Kato has been banned from leaving South Korea.

South Korean prosecutors yesterday indicted a Japanese journalist on charges he defamed South Korea's president by reporting rumours she was absent for seven hours during the April ferry disaster.

The weeks-long investigation of the former Seoul bureau chief of the conservative Sankei Shimbun newspaper has raised questions about South Korea's press freedom. Critics say South Korean President Park Geun-hye has clamped down on journalists in a bid to control her image.

Tatsuya Kato, 48, had been banned from leaving the country during the investigation, even though Japan's Kyodo news agency reported he was transferred out of his bureau chief position on October 1. South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted prosecutors as saying they questioned Kato three times and charged him because they concluded his report was false.

The indictment is linked to an article Kato posted online on August 3 about Park's whereabouts on the day when the Sewol ferry sank, killing more than 300 people.

South Korean media had questioned whether she was unaccounted for on the day the disaster happened.

In his report, Kato cited financial industry rumours, parliamentary debates and the leading conservative South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo.

Kato's headline said: "President Park Geun-hye was missing on the day the passenger ship sank. Who was she meeting?" The article repeated rumours in South Korean media and the financial industry "about a relationship between the president and a man" said to be married at the time. Other reports suggested the man was a recently divorced former aide.

The presidential office said Park "was inside the presidential compound" during the time in question.

Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said: "We are concerned about the development from the viewpoint of freedom of speech and bilateral relations."

Sankei president Takamitsu Kumasaka demanded the indictment be retracted as soon as possible.

"It is a serious and clear violation to the freedom of speech guaranteed by the constitution not only of South Korea but also of Japan and any other democratic nation," he said.