A Korean man was sentenced to a suspended jail term for raping his foreign-born wife.

The Jan. 7 ruling marked the first time that a local court has convicted a man for spousal rape that does not involve the use of a deadly weapon.

The man married his wife, who is 20 years his junior, in 2012 through an international marriage agency.

He was convicted of raping her about 10 times during the first two months of their marriage, as well as physically abusing her.

His wife managed to escape from the house and file a complaint against him to the police with the support of a women’s rights group.

“The plaintiff didn’t know anyone in South Korea other than her husband, who was physically abusive,” the court said.

“We acknowledge that it would’ve been very difficult for her to actively resist her husband.”

The man received a sentence of five years in prison after the first trial by the Jeju District Court last year, which he appealed to the Gwangju High Court. During the appeal process, the plaintiff settled with him for an undisclosed sum.

On Jan. 7, he received a conditional suspended sentence of four years.

“Many men still think rape can’t occur within marriage,” said a women’s rights activist who did not want to be named.

“We hope more women who are suffering from domestic violence can come forward and seek justice after this ruling.”

In 2009, a Busan district court acknowledged for the first time in South Korean history that marital rape was a crime.

The convicted man, who was 42, had been sentenced to a suspended 30-month prison term, but was found hanged at his home in Busan four days later in an apparent suicide.

He had been convicted of raping his then 25-year-old wife, who was originally from the Philippines, after threatening her with a knife.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)