First woman to be charged with rape in South Korea cleared of all charges

On April of 2015, a woman was indicted of rape charges for the first time in Korean history. The woman referred to as Jeon was taken into court and sent to jail after allegedly raping her 51-year-old boyfriend. However, on August 22nd the courts ruled to acquit Jeon of her charges after a jury’s unanimous decision after a 15-hour deliberation.

The court stated, “It is hard to take the prosecutors claims that he took a drink from Jeon without any suspicion even when he knew that she had obsessions towards him and he had a history of falling unconscious previously after accepting a drink from her. Also the prosecutor claimed to have attempted to resist rape from Jeon after taking the drink but Zolpidem, the drug she used, renders one unable to move and makes it impossible for one affected to remember things properly.”

They also acquitted Jeon of wielding a hammer against the victim. The court stated, “The victim claimed that ‘Jeon threatened and wielded a hammer and he felt so threatened and scared that he urinated on the blanket he was on.’ But according to the police report, the injury on the head was minimal and the hospital report does not mention hammers at all.”

According to Korea Times‘ report, Jeon had admitted to drugging her boyfriend, tying him up, as well as yielding a hammer as she feared for her life. She had no intentions of raping him and he has had assaulted in the past. Her lawyer says that since meeting him in 2010 – who was married to another woman – Jeon has been the victim of abuse.

The court unanimously decided to acquit Jeon of all charges.

Source: Finance Today and Korea Times