What Happened in 1964
When she was just 18 years old, Choi Mal-ja was allegedly attacked in Gimhae, southern South Korea. According to court records, the 21-year-old man pinned her down, forced his tongue into her mouth repeatedly, and blocked her nose so she couldn’t breathe. In desperation, Choi bit off about 1.5 centimetres of his tongue to escape.
She was convicted of aggravated bodily injury and given a 10-month prison sentence, suspended for two years. Meanwhile, the attacker was not convicted of attempted rape; instead, he received a lighter sentence for trespassing and intimidation.
The Road to Retrial
In 2020, Choi filed for a retrial, spurred by her own reflections and the wider social conversations around sexual violence, including the #MeToo movement. Lower courts initially rejected her petition.
Finally, in December 2024, the Supreme Court of South Korea ordered that her case be retried. During the retrial process, in July 2025, prosecutors issued a formal apology to Choi. They recognized that the justice system had failed to treat her as a victim and asked for her conviction to be overturned.
The 2025 Verdict
On 10 September 2025, the Busan District Court officially acquitted Choi Mal-ja, overturning her conviction from 1964. The court ruled that her actions—biting off part of her attacker’s tongue—constituted justifiable self-defence. Her act was deemed an attempt to escape what the court described as an “unjust infringement on her bodily integrity and sexual self-determination.”
Reactions and Significance
Choi, now in her late 70s, expressed relief and called the verdict a source of hope for others who have suffered similar injustice. Supporters and women’s rights activists celebrated outside the court, with placards reading “Choi Mal-ja did it!”
Legal experts and civil society have hailed the ruling as a watershed moment in how South Korea’s legal system treats claims of sexual violence and self-defence. The case shines a light on historical injustices and has raised calls for reform of laws and legal procedures around sexual assault.
What Comes Next
- Choi’s legal team plans to seek compensation from the state for the decades she lived under a criminal conviction.
- The case is likely to influence legal precedent in South Korea, especially around the interpretation of self-defence in situations of sexual violence.
- It contributes to ongoing national and global dialogues about how justice systems should treat survivors of sexual violence, both historically and in present cases.
