A South Korean woman has been acquitted after a court revisited her decades-old conviction for biting off the tongue of a man during an alleged sexual attack. Choi Mal-ja was 18 when she was convicted of grievous bodily harm and sentenced to 10 months in jail. Her aggressor, who was 21, received a lighter sentence of six months.
After a years-long campaign to clear her name, a retrial began in the southern city of Busan in July. Prosecutors apologized to her and, in an unusual move, asked the court to quash the conviction.
'I could not let this case go unanswered... I [wanted] to stand up for other victims who share the same fate as mine,' Ms. Choi said after the acquittal.
In 2018, inspired by the global #MeToo movement, Ms. Choi reached out to advocacy groups and spent about two years gathering evidence before filing a petition for a retrial. Finally, in December 2024, the Supreme Court granted her application to reopen the case. The Korea Women's Hotline believes this verdict will pave the way to justice for victims of sexual violence.
After a years-long campaign to clear her name, a retrial began in the southern city of Busan in July. Prosecutors apologized to her and, in an unusual move, asked the court to quash the conviction.
'I could not let this case go unanswered... I [wanted] to stand up for other victims who share the same fate as mine,' Ms. Choi said after the acquittal.
In 2018, inspired by the global #MeToo movement, Ms. Choi reached out to advocacy groups and spent about two years gathering evidence before filing a petition for a retrial. Finally, in December 2024, the Supreme Court granted her application to reopen the case. The Korea Women's Hotline believes this verdict will pave the way to justice for victims of sexual violence.
