First request for adultery retrial filed

A man who was punished for adultery has sought a review of the court’s ruling, marking the first retrial request since the anticheating law was ruled unconstitutional last week, judicial authorities said Wednesday.

The 39-year-old man in Daegu, whose information was withheld, submitted a petition to Daegu District Court for a new trial, officials said. He was sentenced to a two-year jail term with eight months of probation for cheating on his wife in July 2013.

If he is acquitted in the retrial, his criminal record will be removed, law officials said.

The Constitutional Court abolished the anticheating law last Thursday with a 7-2 decision. The judges ruled that the 62-year-old law breached individuals’ sexual rights and privacy.

While about 100,000 people have been found guilty since the law was enacted in 1953, only around 3,000 people are eligible to ask for a retrial, law authorities said. The court grants requests for a review only from those who were given a guilty verdict after Oct. 30, 2008, the date the last ruling in favor of the anticheating law was upheld.

“Those who were jailed for adultery in the past can also seek compensation from the government after being acquitted in a retrial,” court officials said.

By Lee Hyun-jeong (rene@heraldcorp.com)