Woman's quest for justice continues six decades later

Choi Mal-ja, 77, is still expressing rage at the courts nearly six decades after she was sexually assaulted by a stranger...

Choi Mal-ja, 77, is awaiting the Supreme Court's decision on her request for a retrial of her sexual assault case nearly 60 years ago. This photo, taken May 2, shows Choi partaking in a press conference in front of the Supreme Court in southern Seoul that day. Choi was assaulted by a man in her hometown of Gimhae, South Gyeongsang, in 1964. She bit off his tongue in what she said was an act of self-defense. The court issued a stronger sentence on her than on the man. [NEWS1]

Choi Mal-ja, 77, is still expressing rage at the courts nearly six decades after she was sexually assaulted by a stranger.

On May 6, 1964, Choi was an 18-year-old walking down a street in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang, when a man surnamed Roh, three years older and a complete stranger to her, asked her for directions on the road.

Choi, trying to show him the way, walked a little with him, then in an alleyway, Roh suddenly turned and pushed her to the ground.

She tried to fight back but he threw her to the ground, at least three times, according to her testimony in court.

The next thing Choi knew, she was on the ground on her back and Roh was on top of her. He pinched her nose so that she had to open her mouth and was trying to forcibly kiss her.

Choi bit hard, though she later told the court that she didn’t even know she was biting off the man’s tongue, before running away from him.

The tragedy didn’t end there for her.

Roh, with some 10 friends, ambushed Choi and her family at their home, even wielding weapons such as knives. They threatened Choi to “take responsibility” for injuring Roh.

Choi and her family sued Roh for attempted rape, trespassing and intimidation with weapons.

Roh sued back, accusing Choi of inflicting a serious physical injury.

The police, without the power to indict, passed over Choi’s case to the prosecution, asking them to indict Roh on the charges. But the prosecution dropped the charge of attempted rape and indicted Roh for trespassing and intimidation with weapons.

Choi told the court that all the actions she took were out of self-defense. Still, the court handed down a stronger sentence on Choi, giving her a suspended sentence of 10 months for inflicting a serious physical injury to Roh.

In contrast, Roh received a suspended sentence of only six months for trespassing and intimidation with weapons.

Choi’s case has regained traction in recent years after she requested a retiral of her case. Her case was dubbed on social media a “59-year-old Me Too case.”

Experts have said that the prosecution’s decision to drop the attempted rape charge on Roh may have made a difference in the final rulings, significantly weakening Choi’s case against Roh.

The court at the time had said that Choi’s actions of self-defense were “excessive.”

“Even if her action was that of a young woman to protect herself from forced kissing, her act of self-defense went so far as to cut off the tongue of the perpetrator and inflicted a lifelong injury that bars him from speaking,” said the court in its ruling. “Such defensive action was deemed, both generally and objectively, excessive compared to what the laws allow.”

Generally, laws in Korea on self-defense are narrowly defined and applied. The application of laws in cases of self-defense against attempted rape or sexual assault tends to be even narrower.

Choi, throughout her trial, had to even re-enact being forcibly kissed before not only the judge but the press as well.

“I still can’t sleep whenever I think back to those moments,” Choi told the JoongAng Ilbo recently over the phone.

“They treat the victim like she is the perpetrator, and say they’ve done nothing wrong,” she added. “The courts haven't changed, 59 years ago and now.”

Choi, after receiving her suspended sentence, said she couldn’t escape the stigma of someone who accused a man of sexually assaulting her and still lost in court.

She worked different jobs at factories until, entering her 60s, Choi decided to take up school again.

It was only then that she came to realize her rights, she said.

In attending the Korea National Open University in 2013, Choi came across the expression sexual assault in one of her classes.

“I found out only then that what I had suffered was sexual assault,” she said. “I realized belatedly that all people are equal, and that women's human rights must be respected.”

Choi spoke of her experiences while writing her graduation thesis. Her classmates suggested that she ask for a retrial.

The Busan District Court dismissed her request in 2021.

“At the time, the court made the ruling based on the fact that Roh was injured to the extent that he was unable to speak,” said the court in its statement dismissing Choi’s request for a retrial. “That fact has not changed.”

But when Roh went on to serve in the military, his health status was ranked at the first level. Service personnel have their health status ranked at the start of their service from one to seven, with seven being the worst.

“The prosecution and trial took place half a century ago in a social and cultural environment different from today,” but added that changing times and social attitudes don't alter the essential facts of the case.

Now only a Supreme Court ruling remains. Choi has applied for a hearing, but the nation's top court has yet to decide whether to take up the matter.

Choi said she is not asking the court to look at the circumstances differently.

“I am asking to be tried based on the laws of the Republic of Korea,” she said.

BY SHIN HYE-YEON, ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]