A Busan district court on Wednesday acquitted Choi Mal-ja of a 1964 conviction that stemmed from her biting off part of a man’s tongue while he sexually assaulted her, ruling her action was "justifiable self-defence." The decision overturns a ruling that branded Choi a criminal after an attack when she was 18.
Choi had been sentenced in 1965 to 10 months in prison, suspended for two years, for grievous bodily harm after removing about 1.5 centimetres of the assailant’s tongue while trying to escape. Her assailant, identified only as Roh and then 21, was convicted on trespassing and intimidation charges and received a lighter sentence of six months, also suspended for two years. The original trial did not classify Roh’s actions as attempted rape.
In a written statement, the court said Choi’s conduct was "deemed an attempt to escape an unjust infringement on her bodily integrity and sexual self-determination." The ruling follows a retrial ordered by South Korea’s Supreme Court in December 2024 and marks the end of a legal battle Choi revived after being inspired by the country’s #MeToo movement.
Choi, now 79, began seeking to clear her name in 2018. She told reporters after the decision that she wanted to stand up for other victims of sexual violence: "I could not let this case go unanswered. I wanted to stand up for other victims who share the same fate as mine." Outside the courthouse, supporters held placards reading "Choi Mal-ja did it!" and "Choi Mal-ja succeeded."
At the original trial, both police and the presiding judge expressed scepticism about Choi’s account, at one point asking whether she had affection for Roh and suggesting she should marry him. Choi was detained for six months during the investigation; the trial concluded with the suspended sentence. Documents and testimony produced during her campaign also recount that Roh repeatedly sought compensation for his injury and later broke into Choi’s home armed with a kitchen knife.
Choi’s effort to overturn the conviction stalled for years. Her retrial petition, filed in 2020, was initially rejected by lower courts before the Supreme Court accepted the case in late 2024 and ordered a new trial. In the first hearing of the retrial in July, prosecutors in a rare move apologised to Choi and requested the court quash the conviction.
Legal scholars and rights advocates have cited Choi’s case for decades as an example of how courts can fail to recognise self-defence in the context of sexual violence. The case has appeared in South Korean law textbooks to illustrate circumstances in which defensive acts may be mischaracterised.
Choi’s lawyer, Kim Soo-jung, said the next step will be a civil suit against the state seeking compensation for the damages Choi suffered as a result of her conviction and years of stigma. Prosecutors’ apology and the court’s ruling on justifiable self-defence remove the criminal stain from a case that highlighted broader debates in South Korea about how the justice system treats victims of sexual assault.
The acquittal comes amid continued public discussion in South Korea about gender-based violence and the legacy of the #MeToo movement, which encouraged other survivors to pursue legal redress and prompted several high-profile prosecutions and institutional reviews. The court’s decision does not alter Roh’s prior sentence but clarifies that Choi’s response to the attack was legally defensible.