Woman convicted of multiple false accusations of rape, sexual assault

South Korean prosecutors on Tuesday appealed a recent court ruling that handed a three-year prison term to a woman in her 30s for falsely accusing 12 men of sexual assault.

Officials of the Daegu District Prosecutors' Office challenged the ruling Monday, saying the punishment was too lenient. The prosecution had requested a six-year prison term for the defendant.

"A false accusation of sex crime inflicts significant adverse effects on the victim's life. ... (The prosecution has) appealed the case, considering that there are 12 victims, and that they want the defendant to be harshly punished, and that the defendant is still denying the charges and has not shown any signs of remorse," the prosecution said.

The defendant filed rape or sexual assault charges against the 12 victims that she had gotten acquainted with between October of 2022 and November of 2023. According to the investigators, the victims and the woman had either had sex or engaged in sexual acts with the consent of both parties, but she falsely claimed to have been attacked.

South Korea's Criminal Act stipulates that false accusation is punishable by up to 10 years in prison or 15 million won ($11,000) fine.

By Yoon Min-sik(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)