A district court on Friday acquitted a 26-year-old woman accused of defaming the Korean Coast Guard by saying it was blocking civilian rescue operations in the immediate aftermath of April's ferry disaster.
The Korean Coast Guard (KCG), now part of the new safety ministry, had sued Hong Ga-hye for slander after she told a local cable channel two days after the ferry sinking that the KCG was stopping civilian divers from searching for those missing.