South Korea's Foreign Ministry called Tuesday on Japan to react calmly to the indictment of the former Seoul bureau chief of the Sankei Shimbun for defaming President Park Geun-hye.
The article repeated allegations widely aired in South Korea about Park's whereabouts on the day of the deadly ferry disaster in April.
"It is not an issue between the governments of South Korea and Japan, but a matter of law enforcement," ministry spokesman Noh Kwang-il told a press briefing.