South Korea Overturns 60-Year-Old Conviction of Elderly Woman
The decades-long fight of Choi Mal-ja finally ends in justice
Choi Mal-ja holding a one-person protest in front of the Supreme Court in Seoul, May 2023.
Seoul, South Korea —
A South Korean court has overturned the 60-year-old conviction of an elderly woman who, as a teenager, was jailed for biting the tongue of a man she said was sexually assaulting her. The decision marks the end of a decades-long struggle for justice that has drawn nationwide support from women’s rights groups.
Choi Mal-ja, now 79, alleged that in 1964, when she was 18 years old, she was attacked by a man who had approached her for directions in the coastal city of Busan. During the assault, she managed to escape by biting off 1.5 cm (0.6 inch) of the man’s tongue.
The man later sued Choi for grievous bodily harm. She, in turn, filed charges of attempted rape, trespassing, and intimidation against him.
But in South Korea of the 1960s — a deeply patriarchal society still reeling from the Korean War and Japanese occupation — women were expected to yield to men, and domestic violence was so normalized that there wasn’t even a word for it.
The outcome:
• Choi was sentenced to 10 months in prison and two years of probation, a harsher punishment than her aggressor.
• The man received only six months in prison and one year of probation for trespassing and threatening.
• His attempted rape charge was dropped by prosecutors.
Over the decades, women’s rights movements, including the global #MeToo campaign, reignited Choi’s determination to clear her name. She began pursuing justice again in 2020.
Ultimately, the Supreme Court ordered a retrial at the Busan District Court. On Wednesday, the court granted her acquittal, ruling there was insufficient evidence that the man had suffered permanent disability from the injury.
Medical records revealed he underwent tongue surgery, passed military fitness examinations, and served his duty in the armed forces. A witness also testified that his speech returned to normal within a year.
The court recognized Choi’s act as legitimate self-defense taken “to protect herself from unlawful assault.”
Outside the courthouse, Choi was greeted with celebration. Supporters held signs, handed her bouquets, and chanted: “Choi Mal-ja did it!”
“People warned me, saying it would be like hitting an egg against a rock, but I couldn’t just let this case be buried,” Choi told JTBC.
Her legal team has announced plans to file a damages lawsuit against the South Korean government.