A South Korean court on Wednesday overturned the decades-old conviction of Choi Mal-ja, a woman punished in 1965 for defending herself during a sexual assault. The ruling, which comes 61 years after the incident, was inspired in part by the country’s #MeToo movement.
Choi was 19 in 1964 when a 21-year-old man in the southern city of Gimhae attacked her. According to court records, the man pinned her down, forced his tongue into her mouth, and even blocked her nose to stop her from breathing. In a desperate attempt to escape, Choi bit off about 1.5 centimeters of his tongue.
Despite being the victim, Choi was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm and sentenced to 10 months in prison, suspended for two years. Her attacker, meanwhile, received only a suspended sentence for trespassing and intimidation, with no charges related to attempted rape.
On Wednesday, the Busan District Court declared Choi’s actions justifiable self-defense. “Her conduct should be seen as an attempt to escape an unjust infringement on her bodily integrity and sexual self-determination,” the court said. The decision overturns the 1965 ruling that had deemed her response excessive.
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