Decades later, South Korea exonerates victims of wrongful convictions

In 1964, Choi Mal-ja, then 18, was walking her friends home when a stranger abruptly sexually assaulted her. The man knocked her to the ground and attempted to kiss her. As Choi fought back, she bit off about 1.5 centimeters of his tongue. A year later, a court sentenced her to 10 months in prison, suspended for two years, rejecting her plea of self-defense. But 61 years later, the tide of justice has shifted. At her first retrial hearing Wednesday at Busan District Court, prosecutors recommended acquittal and issued a formal apology. “The prosecution should have judged the case fairly, free from bias,” a prosecutor said in court. “Rather than protecting Ms. Choi from prejudice and secondary harm, it caused her suffering. We apologize for failing to recognize her as a victim of sexual violence.” Choi’s case reflects a broader reckoning within South Korea’s judiciary, which is reexamining past rulings in an effort to acknowledge and address the harm caused by wrongful judgments. The move also signals a growing willingness to confront historical injustices and could pave the wa

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