Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dongyeon urged the court to uphold justice after the prosecution acquitted Choi Malja in the "Choi Malja attempted sexual assault case" for the first time in 60 years.
On the evening of the 23rd, Governor Kim wrote on his social networking service (SNS), "Due to the prosecution's mistake, the victim of sexual assault lived as a criminal for over 60 years," and added, "Now, I hope the court will set things right by declaring her not guilty."
He went on to say, "I express my respect and solidarity to Ms. Choi Malja, who has fought tirelessly."
The Choi Malja case dates back to May 6, 1964, in Gimhae, Gyeongsangnam-do, when 18-year-old Choi bit off about 1.5 centimeters of the tongue of 21-year-old Mr. Noh, who was attempting to sexually assault her. For this act, Choi was indicted for inflicting grievous bodily injury and, in 1965, was sentenced by the Busan District Court to 10 months in prison, suspended for 2 years. In contrast, the perpetrator, Mr. Noh, was not convicted of attempted rape but was instead sentenced to 6 months in prison, suspended for 2 years, on charges of special housebreaking and intimidation.
At the time, the court did not recognize Choi's act of biting the tongue as self-defense. Instead, the court subjected Choi, the victim of sexual assault, to secondary victimization through its questioning and delivered an unfavorable verdict. This case has been widely cited in criminal law textbooks as a representative example related to self-defense, but it has also been criticized as a representative case in which the victim was punished as the perpetrator.
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