Warning: This article contains discussion of rape which some readers may find distressing.
A woman who received a 10-month prison sentence after biting off the tongue of her attacker during a rape has been exonerated of her conviction.
After 61 years, the now 79-year-old received news on Wednesday (September 10) that a court in Busan, a coastal city in southeast South Korea, had overturned the previous decision.
Upon hearing the judge’s decision that she acted in self-defense, she proudly declared in the courtroom: “I, Choi-Mal-ja, am finally innocent!”
Outside the district court, supporters chanted, “Choi Mal-ja did it” and “Choi Mal-ja succeeded.”
Her pursuit of justice was inspired by the influential #MeToo movement in 2018.
Explaining her motivation for fighting the case, she said: “For the victims who shared the same fate as mine, I wanted to be a source of hope for them.”
During the retrial that commenced in July, Choi explained that biting off half an inch of the man’s tongue, identified only as ‘Roh’, was a justified response to “an unjust infringement on her bodily integrity and sexual self-determination.”
The incident in question occurred one evening in May 1964 when an 18-year-old Choi was sexually assaulted by 21-year-old Roh, a stranger to her.
The attack took place in Gimhae, a city adjacent to Busan, where Choi was forced to the ground. Roh inserted his tongue in her mouth while holding her nose.
In a desperate act, Choi bit down on her attacker’s tongue, severing a portion of it, and managed to flee.
However, the ordeal was not over for Choi. Roh, armed with a knife, later broke into her home and threatened her father.
Roh took legal action, accusing Choi of causing him grievous bodily harm, which led to her 10-month prison sentence.
Her defense was dismissed, and there were claims from prosecutors suggesting she was attracted to her attacker. The judge even cruelly suggested that Choi should marry Roh.
Roh received a suspended six-month sentence, with a two-year probation, for trespassing and intimidation.
If you have been affected by any of the issues discussed in this article, assistance is available through The National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673), which operates 24/7. You can also chat online at online.rainn.org