Lured to Busan for the Crime... Court "Recognizes Quasi-Rape and Injury"
Women's Group "Sentence Lower Than Prosecutor's 7-Year Demand"
On the 22nd, a women's organization held a press conference in front of the Busan District Court regarding the sexual assault case involving a former official of the Green Party. [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-ju] A former Green Party official who was prosecuted for sexually assaulting Shin Ji-ye, the representative of the Korean Women’s Political Network (and former co-chair of the Green Party), has been sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in prison.
On the 22nd, the Busan District Court’s 2nd Criminal Division sentenced Mr. A, who was charged with quasi-rape causing injury, to 3 years and 6 months in prison in the first trial verdict.
The court also ordered Mr. A to complete 40 hours of sexual violence treatment programs and imposed a 3-year employment ban at institutions related to children and adolescents, and detained him in court citing flight risk.
Mr. A was prosecuted on charges of sexually assaulting and injuring Representative Shin while she was asleep intoxicated at a lodging in Busan in February of last year.
At that time, Mr. A reportedly called Representative Shin to Busan saying, "I will tell you how to eliminate false rumors," and asked to stay at her lodging saying, "I will sleep on the floor."
Afterwards, Representative Shin publicly revealed the victimization, left the Green Party, and ran as an independent candidate in Seodaemun-gu Gap, Seoul. She has since appealed for punishment against Mr. A.
In court, Mr. A admitted to the sexual assault (quasi-rape) but denied causing injury to the victim, arguing that it was not quasi-rape causing injury.
However, the court recognized both the sexual assault and injury charges as guilty based on bruises on the victim’s thighs and knees and medical treatment records taken after the incident.
The court stated, "Considering that the victim received medical treatment several times over several weeks after the incident, injury can be acknowledged," but added, "The degree of injury sustained by the victim is not severe."
After the verdict was announced, women’s organizations held a press conference in front of the Busan District Court, condemning the court for the sentence, calling it "grossly insufficient compared to the 7-year sentence requested by the prosecution."
They expressed shock at the lenient ruling and urged the prosecution to appeal, saying, "The sentence is too light compared to the pain inflicted on the victim by the perpetrator."
Meanwhile, Representative Shin Ji-ye, who joined the Green Party in 2012, gained recognition by running for Seoul mayor in the June 2018 local elections under the slogan of a feminist Seoul mayor.
In last year’s general election, she ran as an independent candidate in Seodaemun Gap, Seoul, after leaving the Green Party due to this incident.
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