Probe Targeting ‘Root’ of Rumors About Actress

Police said yesterday that another person is involved with creating a false rumor that drove actress Choi Jin-shil to suicide last week.

Investigators questioned a 28-year-old woman who allegedly told an employee at a securities company “Baek,” who was indicted for spreading a rumor that linked Choi to loan sharks, that another person, identified only as “B,” was involved in the rumor.

The woman told police, “The content in the e-mail I sent to Baek was received from ‘B’ through an online messenger. I didn’t start the rumor. I only told what I heard from ‘B’ to Baek.”

Police said “B” began the rumor and passed it on to the woman through online chatting, then to Baek, who uploaded the details she received on a Web bulletin board at work.

“B” will be summoned for questioning if the woman’s testimony is confirmed through analyzing electronic data.

A police official said, “The rumor seems to be one of those that typically circulate between securities experts, who come across many rumors spread indiscriminately through online chatting. We will have to see the electronic data, but it will be a daunting task to estimate how far the rumor traveled.”

An interim report on the investigation into the rumor could come as early as Tuesday after questioning relevant people.

Police also questioned the security guard at Choi’s apartment building as a reference on the cause of her death and what she did that day, but found no new information.

Another police official said, “We investigated what she did on the day of her death, but what the security guard told us was more or less the same as what we knew before.”

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