By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter

A court ruled Tuesday that a father indicted on charges of raping his daughter no longer had any parental rights regarding her. This is the first such ruling since a law allowing it was enacted in 2007.

The provincial court in Uijeongbu, north of Seoul, said it accepted the prosecution's request for the sake of the victim's rights.

If the father doesn't appeal the court's order within two weeks, all of his rights as her parent would be stripped away permanently, the court said in a statement.

The decision came before the court hands down a verdict on the accused father. The prosecution has sought a 15-year prison sentence for him in last month's court hearing. While the court hasn't made a final ruling yet, observers say a guilty verdict is a foregone conclusion

Presiding Judge Kang Jae-chul said, ``A series of acts committed by the accused apparently prove the father has no intention to be regarded as her father and provide ample ground for us to deprive his parental rights.''

The man, whose name remains unidentified according to the court protocols, was indicted and placed in custody in September on charges of raping his 17-year-old daughter more than 10 times.

pss@koreatimes.co.kr