A South Korean woman has been acquitted of biting off part of a man's tongue during an alleged sexual assault 61 years ago. Choi Mal-ja, now 79, was attacked in 1964 when she was 19 by a 21-year-old man in Gimhae.
He pinned her to the ground and repeatedly tried to force his tongue into her mouth, even blocking her nose to force her to open her mouth. Choi escaped after biting off 1.5cm of his tongue. Her attacker was convicted of trespassing and intimidation in 1965, receiving a suspended six-month sentence, but Choi was found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm and given a suspended 10-month sentence.
On Wednesday, the Busan district court overturned her conviction, ruling her actions were 'justifiable self-defence' under South Korean law. The court stated her response was 'deemed an attempt to escape an unjust infringement on her bodily integrity and sexual self-determination'.
Supporters cheered as she left court, with women's rights activists holding a placard reading 'Choi Mal-ja did it!'. She said: 'For the victims who shared the same fate as mine, I wanted to be a source of hope for them.'
Choi was inspired by the #MeToo movement and filed for a retrial in 2020. After lower courts rejected her petition, South Korea's highest court ordered a rehearing in 2024, where prosecutors apologised and asked for her conviction to be overturned. Her lawyers plan to seek compensation from the state.
