Woman acquitted of attempted rape

A woman charged with attempted rape for the first time in Korea has been acquitted, court officials said Sunday.

Seoul Central District Court ruled the 45-year-old was innocent based on a unanimous jury decision. Under the law, the jury’s decision is not legally binding but the court is required to respect it.

Jeon was suspected of attempting to rape her lover after he ended the relationship by drugging him and tying up his legs and arms last year. She was the first woman to be charged with attempted rape after the criminal law was expanded to apply not only male offenders but also female attackers in June 2013. She was also accused of hitting him with a hammer when he woke up.

While Jeon, who reportedly suffers from a mild intellectual disability, admitted that she had given the defendant a sleeping pill, tied him up and hit him with a hammer, she claimed that she did not attempt to rape him. She added that hitting him with the hammer was an act of self-defense, claiming that he had habitually abused her.

The nine jury members made a unanimous decision in Jeon’s favor, saying that her accuser’s testimony was not credible enough.

Her accuser, for instance, gave detailed testimonies of the situation despite claiming to have been drugged. The court also took into account that it would be difficult for Jeon, weighing 44 kilograms, to have lifted the drugged defendant upright as he had claimed.

Prosecutors will decide soon whether to appeal, the authorities said.

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