South Korea’s top court has handed down a potentially explosive ruling that recognizes sexual relations between a middle-aged man and a teenage girl.
The Supreme Court said Monday it had overturned a ruling by the Seoul High Court, which convicted the man in his 40s of sexually assaulting the girl, who was then aged 15, several times when she was working for his entertainment agency.
A Seoul district court had sentenced him to 12 years in jail on charges of raping the girl. Later, the appellate court scaled back the prison term to nine years, in consideration of the fact that the man had no criminal record of sexual offenses.
Though the man had argued that their sexual relationship was based on love, the lower courts did not accept the defendant’s claim.
The defendant met the girl in 2011 and started a relationship with her even though there was a 27-year age gap. After she got pregnant, she ran away from home and lived with him for about a month without getting married.
The case came to light when the girl reported to the police that she had been sexually assaulted by the man, a charge that later got the man indicted.
The Supreme Court, in its ruling, said that the girl’s testimony lacked credibility. The top court said that she was confirmed to have paid a visit to the man every day while he was in custody for a trial unrelated to the sexual assault case she initiated.
The verdict also cited text messages between the two as evidence that they were in a relationship and, accordingly, that there was a low possibility of rape. It also said the girl continued to meet the man without telling anyone about their sexual relations.
“It seems that (the girl) expressed her feelings honestly via the text messages. (So) it is hard to trust (the plaintiff’s) statement that (the defendant) committed the sexual offense against her will,” said the verdict.
Korean law stipulates that having sex with children aged 12 or younger is deemed a sexual assault regardless of the relationship status or other conditions. But for those aged 13 or older, the court recognizes assault charges when there is a proof of forceful acts against the will of the victim.
