Victim Found Not Guilty 61 Years after Self-Defense Case

“This is my innocence!”

Choi Mal-ja, 79, left the Busan District Court on Sept. 10 with a bright expression, shouting these words. She had just been acquitted after 61 years, as the court finally recognized her act of self-defense in the case where she was previously convicted for biting a man’s tongue while defending herself from sexual assault.

On Sept. 10, the 5th Criminal Division of Busan District Court, led by Chief Judge Kim Hyun-soon, acquitted Choi of charges including aggravated injury, recognizing her actions as self-defense. The moment Choi was cleared of her conviction after six decades drew applause and cheers from the courtroom gallery, prompting court officers to intervene. The prosecution has stated it will not appeal.

After the verdict, Choi spoke at a press conference held by the Busan Bar Association. “I thought I would feel exhilarated receiving a not-guilty verdict, but I also feel a sense of emptiness,” she said. “People around me discouraged me, calling my retrial request like ‘throwing an egg at a rock,’ but I wanted to give hope to victims like me. “Laws should be amended so that sexual assault perpetrators can face harsher punishment.”

Choi was arrested and charged in May 1964, at age 18, for biting off 1.5 centimeters of the tongue of a man who attempted to sexually assault her. She was sentenced to 10 months in prison with a two-year probation. Her claim of self-defense in response to sexual assault was not accepted at the time.

In May 2020, 56 years after the incident, Choi filed a retrial request. The lower courts initially dismissed her claim, stating there was no evidence to support her allegation that the prosecution had illegally detained her and coerced a confession during the original investigation. After more than three years of review, the Supreme Court found sufficient grounds to consider her claim valid and remanded the case. In February, the Busan High Court accepted her appeal regarding the dismissal of her retrial for the aggravated injury charge. The Busan District Prosecutors’ Office requested an acquittal at the retrial sentencing hearing on July 23.


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