Japanese Journalist Cleared of Defaming Park Geun-hye

Kato's story goes back to August 2014, when he published an article on the Japanese daily Sankei Shimbun's website questioning the South Korean president's whereabouts in April 2014 during a tragic ferry accident where more than 300 passengers perished.

The article picked up unproven rumours circulating in the South Korean media that the unmarried Park had disappeared for a tryst with her former aide when the boat sank off South Korea's southern coast.

The court added that Kato wrote the article with the motive of informing the Japanese people of the political situation of a neighboring country out of "public interest", which is why it was handing down a verdict of not guilty.

The ruling by the Seoul Central District Court comes as President Park Geun-hye faces criticism that she has clamped down on journalists.

Press freedom rankings by Reporters Without Borders placed South Korea at 60th among 180 countries in the index, down three notches from a year earlier. Prosecutors, who previously requested an 18-month prison term, have one week to appeal the ruling.

A Japanese journalist indicted in October 2014 for spreading false information about South Korean President Park Geun-hye has been cleared of the charges against him.

South Korea's Foreign Ministry had intervened in the case, asking the Justice Ministry to consider a request for leniency submitted by the Japanese government based on recent efforts between the two countries to improve relations.

The talks, led by South Korean Second Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin, will be held in Seoul next Tuesday, the South Korean ministry said in a release. The Seoul court acquitted Kato on Thursday of defaming South Korea's president by reporting that she was spending time with a man during a deadly ferry disaster a year ago.

The trial had further irritated already inflamed ties between the South and its former colonial power Japan, which have for decades bickered over history and territorial disputes. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also welcomed the ruling saying that he hopes it will have a positive effect on their bilateral relationship.

"Now that the burden caused by the indictment has been removed, we expect it to be an opportunity to improve ties between South Korea and Japan going forward", a foreign ministry official said on condition of anonymity.

Late a year ago, the Constitutional Court ordered the dissolution of a small leftist party that officials say advocated a North Korean-style socialist system.