Woman Who Bit Off Her Rapist's Tongue Finally Acquitted After 61 Years

Warning: This article discusses rape and may be upsetting for some readers.

A woman who once spent 10 months in prison after biting off the tongue of the man who was raping her has finally been cleared of wrongdoing after more than six decades.

On Wednesday, September 10, the now 79-year-old heard the news that a court in Busan, a coastal city in southeastern South Korea, had officially overturned her conviction from 1964.

After the presiding judge ruled that her actions were indeed an act of self-defense, she stood up in court and declared: "I, Choi-Mal-ja, am finally innocent!"

Outside the courthouse, supporters could be heard chanting slogans such as “Choiu Mal-ja did it” and “Choi Mal-ja succeeded,” celebrating the decision with her.

Her long battle for justice gained renewed strength in the wake of the #MeToo movement in 2018, which empowered her to reopen her case and fight for her name to be cleared.

Explaining why she felt compelled to keep fighting, she said: "For the victims who shared the same fate as mine, I wanted to be a source of hope for them."

During the retrial, which began in July, Choi defended her actions by stating that biting off half an inch of the man’s tongue—identified only as “Roh”—was a proportionate act of self-defense against what she described as “an unjust infringement on her bodily integrity and sexual self-determination.”

Choi Mal-ja has been acquitted of her conviction after a judge ruled that she acted in self-defence KBS News

The assault happened on a night in May 1964, when 18-year-old Choi was attacked by Roh, a 21-year-old man she had never met before.

During the attack in Gimhae, a city near Busan, Choi was thrown to the ground as Roh forced his tongue into her mouth while pinching her nose to stop her from breathing.

In that terrifying moment, she bit down hard, severing part of his tongue, and managed to break free and escape from him.

Choi was joined by supporters outside the courtroom after seeing her conviction overturned KBS News

Her nightmare did not end there. Soon after, Roh—armed with a knife—broke into her home and threatened her father’s life, adding even more trauma to the ordeal.

Instead of facing accountability, Roh went to court and accused Choi of inflicting “grievous bodily harm.” Shockingly, the judge agreed with him and sentenced her to 10 months in prison.

Her defense was dismissed, and prosecutors even implied that she had been attracted to her attacker. To make matters worse, the judge cruelly suggested that Choi should consider marrying Roh, rather than recognizing her as the victim she truly was.

Roh himself received only a six-month sentence for trespassing and intimidation, but it was suspended for two years, allowing him to avoid serving time in jail.

If you or someone you know has been affected by the issues raised in this article, help is available. You can reach out to The National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673), which operates 24/7. Online chat support is also available through online.rainn.org.