Seoul court to issue verdict on Japanese reporter

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his South Korean counterpart Park Geun Hye agreed to launch negotiations during Xi’s visit to South Korea in July previous year, China News Service reports.

The Seoul district court judge said that while what Mr Kato wrote was inappropriate, he should be protected by the freedom of speech in a democratic society.

In his article published online on August 3, 2014, Kato picked up rumors circulating in the South Korean media and the financial industry that the unmarried president had been unaccounted for during seven hours after the ferry’s sinking on April 16 to have a tryst with her former male aide who was married at the time.

“Our company has always encouraged employees to change their old ways of thinking, but it was hard to bring about any real difference”, said Park Chun-woong.

President Park Geun-hye has said that if South Korea succeeds in exporting its domestic jet trainer to the United States, it will greatly contribute to advancing the nation’s aviation industry and economy.

The prosecution has a week to appeal, although Seoul’s foreign ministry appeared to welcome the court’s ruling as an opportunity to mend frayed ties with Tokyo.

Mr Kato denied it was defamation and said the report was in the public interest.

Park’s business-friendly government was criticized for lax enforcement of public safety to bolster economic development.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said earlier Thursday that it had asked the Justice Ministry to consider Japan’s request for leniency on Kato.

The Sankei – a centre-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 WWII. Japan expressed worries over Kato’s indictment previous year.

The verdict came amid growing concerns over how the case could deal a blow to Korea-Japan relations soured by historical and territorial issues. 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.

During Tuesday’s talks, the Japanese side reiterated its position that the issue has been settled, while South Korea again called on Japan to apologize over the issue, sources said. Hundreds plan to march Saturday in Seoul against her, the latest in a series of mass protests against the government in recent months.