By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter

A court set men’s “sexual life expectancy” at 69 in a ruling Tuesday. The court asked an insurance company to pay 48 million won ($39,000) in compensation to a 47-year-old man who has been rendered impotent after a car accident in 2006.

It is the latest attempt to set a ceiling on sexual life span, because in other cases court rulings have varied.

Judge Chung Hyun-soo of the Seoul High Court said in a ruling, “The amount of compensation was based on the presumption that the victim could have sexual relations at least twice a week up to 60 and once a week up to 69.”

The court included the costs of buying erection-inducing pills such as Viagra, instrumental help, and other relevant medical treatments in the compensation package.

The plaintiff, Yoon, was hit by a truck while bickering with a friend on April 16, 2006. The accident left him with a severe spinal injury, causing significant sexual dysfunction.

To calculate until when one can be sexually active, the court asked St. Mary’s Hospital for consultations. It concluded that men can remain sexually active through 69.

“Medically, those with erection, ejaculation, or relaxation problems are diagnosed as sexually dysfunctional,” a urologist said. “Given the severity of the injuries the patient sustained, I believe he has something close to total dysfunction. But even with the help of advanced medical technologies, it is doubtful whether he can regain full functionality.”

In a separate case, the court set the age ceiling at 71 in a compensation suit filed by a 21-year-old man, who became sexually dysfunctional as a result of an injury caused by jumping from a building on fire.

In general, around 10 percent of men in their 40s suffer from impotence, according to heath authorities.
The ratio, which increases as people grow older, hovers around 80 percent among those in their 80s. The authorities estimate that around one million men suffer from the problem.

pss@koreatimes.co.kr