A South Korean blogger, nicknamed the "Internet economic president" had a knack for making accurate predictions. But as anchor Marco Werman explains he turned out to be something other than he purported to be.
This text below is a phonetic transcript of a radio story broadcast by PRI's THE WORLD. It has been created on deadline by a contractor for PRI. The transcript is included here to facilitate internet searches for audio content. Please report any transcribing errors to theworld@pri.org. This transcript may not be in its final form, and it may be updated. Please be aware that the authoritative record of material distributed by PRI's THE WORLD is the program audio.
MARCO WERMAN: The global financial crisis has had an economic prophet of sorts. It was a South Korean blogger with the online pen-name of "Minerva" -- the Roman name for the Greek goddess of wisdom. This Minerva posted dire predictions about the global economy that proved to be right on. He described himself as a former securities firm employee with experience in corporate acquisitions and takeovers. He claimed to have a Masters degree from the U-S. His prescient postings earned him the nickname "Internet economic president." Trouble is -- the "president" was actually an unemployed 30 year old with a communications degree from a Seoul junior college. His name is Park Dae-sung. In January, Korean authorities charged Park with writing false statements that the government had banned major financial institutions and trade businesses from buying U-S dollars. But yesterday, a court cleared Park of any wrongdoing. The court said Park “didn't have the intention of undermining the public interest." Park publicly apologized for causing trouble. And when asked if he would keep blogging, he said -- "There is no reason for me not to write."
Copyright ©2008 PRI's THE WORLD. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to PRI's THE WORLD. This transcript may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without prior written permission. For further information, please email The World's Permissions Coordinator at theworld@pri.org.