Fisticuffs in the Korean Parliament as media laws are debated

Proposed changes in media laws produced outbreaks of fisticuffs in Sourh Korea's Parliament as reported here by CJR

Hundreds of competing lawmakers screamed and wrestled in South Korea’s parliament Wednesday as a rivalry over contentious media reform bills descended into a brawl that sent at least one to a hospital.
Lawmakers from the ruling Grand National Party occupied the speaker’s podium in a bid to quickly pass the bills aimed at easing restrictions on ownership of television networks…
The opposition strongly opposes the proposed media reforms that would ease restrictions on large businesses and newspapers owning stakes in major broadcasting stations. They claim the move is a ploy by the government of President Lee Myung-bak to get more sympathetic media coverage by allowing large conservative newspapers to get into the broadcasting business.

Thoughts of Minerva

We associate some South east asian countries with internet suppression but now it appears that South Korea has joined the fold.

A blogger known as Minerva has been posting attacks on the financial management of the economy and it seems the government is none too happy.

As Time magazine explains his

thoughts generated huge attention in Korea, particularly following Minerva's prediction that Lehman Brothers would fail. Those musings, however, have not sat well with Seoul. Now Park has been taken into custody by the government and, according to his lawyer, faces a maximum five-year prison sentence for allegedly spreading false information with the intention of harming or threatening public interest. Late last week, Park was denied bail.

What makes the story more extraordinary is that

According to his lawyer, Park taught himself economics, reading books on the subject since 1997.

So much so that people are beginning to doubt whether this one man was behind the posts