Court lifts sentence on South Korean woman who bit off attacker’s tongue

The 1965 condemnation imposed a longer condemnation connected Choi Mal-ja than the past 19-year-old’s attacker was handed.

A South Korean tribunal has acquitted a pistillate antecedently convicted for defending herself against an enactment of intersexual unit six decades ago.

Busan’s District Court overturned the erstwhile ruling connected Wednesday, saying Choi Mal-ja’s actions “constitute justifiable self-defence” nether South Korean law.

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Choi’s actions astatine the clip are present “deemed an effort to flight an unjust infringement connected her bodily integrity and intersexual self-determination”, the tribunal said successful a statement.

The ruling overturns Choi’s 1965 conviction, erstwhile the tribunal recovered her actions had “exceeded the tenable bounds of legally permissible self-defence”.

Choi, who was 19 astatine the clip of the incident, was attacked by a 21-year-old antheral successful the confederate municipality of Gimhae successful 1964.

The antheral pinned her to the crushed and repeatedly forced his lingua into her mouth, astatine 1 constituent blocking her chemoreceptor to halt her from breathing, according to tribunal records.

Choi managed to interruption escaped by biting disconnected astir 1.5cm (0.6 inches) of his tongue.

In 1 of South Korea’s astir contentious rulings connected intersexual violence, the aggressor received lone six months successful prison, suspended for 2 years, for trespassing and intimidation – but not attempted rape.

But Choi, present 79, was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm and handed a 10-month situation sentence, suspended for 2 years.

Wearing a agleam pinkish blazer, Choi beamed arsenic supporters handed her aggregate bouquets aft the caller ruling.

Women’s rights activists and her supporters celebrated, galore visibly emotional, waving a placard that read, “Choi Mal-ja did it!”

“Sixty-one years ago, successful a concern wherever I could recognize nothing, the unfortunate became the perpetrator, and my destiny was sealed arsenic a criminal,” Choi said successful a quality league pursuing the ruling.

“For the victims who shared the aforesaid destiny arsenic mine, I wanted to beryllium a root of anticipation for them,” she said.

The Korea Women’s Hotline (KWH), 1 of the groups that supported Choi during the trial, said the verdict volition pave the mode for different victims of intersexual unit seeking justice.

“Going forward, women’s antiaircraft acts volition beryllium understood arsenic legitimate. I expect this volition mean less women volition look unjust suffering,” says Song Ran-hee, caput of the KWH.

Choi’s entreaty gained momentum aft the #MeToo movement, which took disconnected globally successful 2017, inspired her to question justice.

In South Korea, immense women’s rights protests person led to victories connected issues ranging from termination entree to tougher penalties for spycam crimes.

Choi filed for a retrial successful 2020, but little courts initially rejected her petition.

After years of campaigning and an appeal, South Korea’s apical tribunal yet ordered a retrial successful 2024.

Her lawyers said they present program to question compensation from the authorities for the damages she suffered from her condemnation six decades ago.

South Korea has seen astatine slightest 2 different cases of women biting disconnected the tongues of intersexual assailants: One successful Andong successful 1988 and different successful Busan successful 2020. In some instances, courts ruled the actions were morganatic acts of self-defence, and the women were acquitted.