Court suspends prison sentence of man for attempted rape of daughter-in-law

A man in his 80s charged with attempted rape of his Vietnamese daughter-in-law was released Wednesday, after a court suspended the 2-year jail term he was issued by a lower court.

Gwangju High Court’s 1st Jeju Criminal Division ruled on Wednesday that the two year prison sentence should be suspended for four years in an appellate trial. He had been in prison following the lower court’s ruling.

The man was also ordered to attend 40 hours of sexual violence treatment and banned from working in facilities for children, youths and disabled people for five years.

The man had been under detention for attempting to rape his daughter-in-law in 2021. The victim’s 4- and 5-year-old children -- the man's grandchildren -- are said to have been present at the time of the crime, according to local media.

The appellate ruling considered the nature of the crime, the seriousness of damage that the victim suffered from and relations between those concerned as well as the fact that the victim asked for him not to be punished, the court explained.

The case came to light in 2023 when the victim told an acquaintance and filed a police report. According to media reports, the victim chose not to report the crime in 2021 when her husband told her that he would not be able to maintain their relationship if she reported his father to the police.

During the trial presided over by the lower court, the convict maintained that the victim was lying, but admitted his guilt in the appellate trial.