by REERA YOO | @reeraboo
editor@charactermedia.com
A 45-year-old woman has been indicted for attempting to rape a man, making her the first woman to face such charges in South Korea, reports Yonhap News Agency.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said on Friday that the indicted woman, identified only by her surname Jeon, attempted to rape her 51-year-old ex-boyfriend after allegedly drugging him at her home last year.
The two first met at a bicycle club in 2011 and dated for four years, although the man was married at the time with children. When the man tried to break up with Jeon last August, she coerced him to meet her for the last time in her home, reports the Korea Times. There, Jeon allegedly served him tea spiked with Zolpidem, a potent sleeping pill.
Once he lost consciousness, Jeon stripped and shackled him to the bed with rope and towels, with the intention of having sex with him, said the prosecution. She also allegedly struck the man with a hammer after he suddenly woke up and tried to escape.
This is the first time a woman has been indicted for attempted rape in South Korea since the country revised its sex crimes law in June 2013 to recognize adult men as potential victims of sexual assault. Prior to the revision, only women could be legally defined as victims, making it impossible for male victims to press rape charges against their female assailants.
Women accused of sexual assault were usually charged with sexual molestation by force. While those convicted of rape face a minimum of three years in prison, the punishment for sexual molestation by force are much lighter.
Although South Korea has modified its criminal law to prosecute both male and female sex offenders, the current law still does not acknowledge women as rapists against adult women or female children.
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Featured image via Yonhap
