World
Court lifts sentence on South Korean woman who bit off attacker’s tongue
The 1965 conviction imposed a longer sentence on Choi Mal-ja than the then 19-year-old’s attacker was handed.
Published On 10 Sep 2025
A South Korean court has acquitted a woman previously convicted for defending herself against an act of sexual violence six decades ago.
Busan’s District Court overturned the previous ruling on Wednesday, saying Choi Mal-ja’s actions “constitute justifiable self-defence” under South Korean law.
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Choi’s actions at the time are now “deemed an attempt to escape an unjust infringement on her bodily integrity and sexual self-determination”, the court said in a statement.
The ruling overturns Choi’s 1965 conviction, when the court found her actions had “exceeded the reasonable bounds of legally permissible self-defence”.
Choi, who was 19 at the time of the incident, was attacked by a 21-year-old man in the southern town of Gimhae in 1964.
The man pinned her to the ground and repeatedly forced his tongue into her mouth, at one point blocking her nose to stop her from breathing, according to court records.
Choi managed to break free by biting off about 1.5cm (0.6 inches) of his tongue.
In one of South Korea’s most contentious rulings on sexual violence, the aggressor received only six months in prison, suspended for two years, for trespassing and intimidation – but not attempted rape.
But Choi, now 79, was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm and handed a 10-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.
Wearing a bright pink blazer, Choi beamed as supporters handed her multiple bouquets after the new ruling.
Women’s rights activists and her supporters celebrated, many visibly emotional, waving a placard that read, “Choi Mal-ja did it!”
“Sixty-one years ago, in a situation where I could understand nothing, the victim became the perpetrator, and my fate was sealed as a criminal,” Choi said in a news conference following the ruling.
“For the victims who shared the same fate as mine, I wanted to be a source of hope for them,” she said.
The Korea Women’s Hotline (KWH), one of the groups that supported Choi during the trial, said the verdict will pave the way for other victims of sexual violence seeking justice.
“Going forward, women’s defensive acts will be understood as legitimate. I expect this will mean fewer women will face unjust suffering,” says Song Ran-hee, head of the KWH.
Choi’s appeal gained momentum after the #MeToo movement, which took off globally in 2017, inspired her to seek justice.
In South Korea, huge women’s rights protests have led to victories on issues ranging from abortion access to tougher penalties for spycam crimes.
Choi filed for a retrial in 2020, but lower courts initially rejected her petition.
After years of campaigning and an appeal, South Korea’s top court finally ordered a retrial in 2024.
Her lawyers said they now plan to seek compensation from the state for the damages she suffered from her conviction six decades ago.
South Korea has seen at least two other cases of women biting off the tongues of sexual assailants: One in Andong in 1988 and another in Busan in 2020. In both instances, courts ruled the actions were legitimate acts of self-defence, and the women were acquitted.
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By James McManagan, Paul Sonne, Malachy Browne and Jackeline Luna
June 19, 2026
World
Man charged with attempted murder, released after allegedly forcing toddler into crocodile enclosure at zoo
Man FORCES child into crocodile enclosure
A British man has been arrested after allegedly forcing a 3-year-old boy into a crocodile enclosure at a zoo. The child suffered critical injuries, and authorities say the suspect did not know the boy as the investigation continues.
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A man was released from custody on Friday after he was charged with attempted murder for allegedly forcing a 3-year-old boy into a crocodile enclosure at a zoo.
Cambridgeshire police said that the man, who remains unidentified, wasn’t fit to be interviewed.
The boy suffered critical injuries in the incident at Johnsons of Old Hurst, a farm and zoo in Huntingdon, England, north of London.
The 30-year-old man will remain on bail until Sept. 30, pending further inquiries.
GEORGIA MOM’S WALMART TRIP DEVOLVES INTO ‘TUG-OF-WARRING’ IN DESPERATE ATTEMPT TO SAVE HER SON
A crocodile rests inside an enclosure at Johnsons of Old Hurst, a farm and zoo in Old Hurst, Cambridgeshire, Britain, on April 14, 2026. (Dorota Dee Trajdos/Reuters)
“The man, who is not known to the victim, was assessed as not being fit for interview,” police said in a statement.
The boy is in stable condition, after reportedly suffering a broken arm and pelvis.
He was saved from the crocodile by Tracey Johnson, the wife of the zoo’s owner.
MOTHER JUMPS INTO WATER TO SAVE 4-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER WHO FELL BETWEEN CRUISE SHIP AND DOCK
“I know Tracey very well and she’s a lovely lady and it’s nothing more than I’d expect from her,” a local told BBC News. “She’d always put her own life at risk to save someone else. She’s an extraordinary lady and very brave.
The villager added that Johnson put herself in “immense danger” during the rescue.
The owners said their tropical house would remain closed until further notice.
Crocodiles rest inside an enclosure at Johnsons of Old Hurst farm and zoo in Old Hurst, Cambridgeshire, Britain, on April 14, 2026. (Dorota Dee Trajdos/Reuters)
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the boy and his family following the incident that occurred today,” the owners wrote on social media.
Johnsons of Old Hurst is a farm and zoo north of London in Huntingdon, England. (Google Maps)
Huntingdonshire district councillor Charlotte Lowe said she couldn’t “fathom how it’s happened because they’ve got all the right protection and safety equipment, for want of a better word, in there,” The Guardian reported.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the Cambridgeshire Constabulary for comment.
Published on
US President Donald Trump has doubled down on his comments on Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, saying she asked him “over and over” for a photo when the pair met at the G7 summit in France earlier this week.
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Following the summit, Trump told an Italian journalist that he “felt sorry for Meloni” after she “begged me to take a picture with her”.
Meloni hit back in a video posted to social media, branding Trump’s claims as “completely made up” and insisting that neither she nor Italy begs anyone for anything.
The once close pair’s relationship has grown increasingly fractious in recent months, particularly since Rome refused to provide the US support for its operations in Iran and after Meloni defended Pope Leo XIV, who was criticised by the Trump administration over his remarks on the war and the US’s immigration policies.
“Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni asked, over and over, for a picture with me during the G-7 meeting in France,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account on Saturday. “She is doing poorly in Italy with her level of popularity, possibly because she turned down the United States of America, a Country that truly loves and protects Italy, when it came to denying Iran from obtaining or developing a Nuclear Weapon”.
“Now, after the United States defeated Iran militarily, she wants to be friends again in order to get her “numbers up.” No thanks!!!” Trump added.
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