A recent verdict by the Gwangju High Court has sparked backlash and criticism from international netizens for “failing women again.
On September 11, a man in his 80s, who attempted to rape his daughter-in-law, was released from prison after the Gwangju High Court suspended his two-year sentence that a lower court ordered.
The perpetrator had filed for a trial, and the 1st Jeju Criminal Division of the high court ruled that the two-year prison sentence should be suspended for four years. The man has been ordered to attend 40 hours of sexual violence treatment and banned for five years from working at institutions working with children, youth, or disabled people.
The perpetrator tried to rape his Vietnamese daughter-in-law in 2021. The victim’s children and the man’s grandchildren, a four-year-old and a five-year-old, were reportedly witnesses of the crime.
The appellate ruling was based on consideration of the crime’s nature and seriousness, the damage suffered by the victim, and the relationship between those involved. Additionally, the victim’s statement asking for her father-in-law not to be punished also played a role in the ruling.
The victim didn’t report the crime until 2023. In 2021, when the incident occurred, her husband reportedly told her that he wouldn’t be able to continue his relationship with her if she reported the crime to the police. Though during the trial, the convict maintained that he was innocent and the victim was lying, he admitted to his guilt during the appeal hearing.
The case has left many international netizens angered and frustrated over South Korea’s lack of strict laws to deal with sexual violence against women.
Source: Chosun
