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| /Courtesy of Twitter |
A Korean Augmentation to the United States Army (KATUSA) soldier has been acquitted of raping a female U.S. soldier here. But the court ruling has stirred controversy because the KATUSA soldier admitted "raping" the victim.
Presiding judge Lee Dong-wook, of the Seoul Eastern District Court, cited a lack of evidence for his decision, stating critical elements that constitute a sexual assault -- such as a perpetrator's threat and a victim's resistance -- were missing.
"It seems that the victim had unwanted sex," said the judge. "However, it does not seem like the perpetrator assaulted or threatened the victim into having sex with him."
The incident happened after the KATUSA soldier, 22, started dating a female U.S. soldier, 19, who was deployed in Korea in October 2015. They soon became a couple and had consensual sex the same month.
But in December 2015, the KATUSA soldier had sex with the U.S. soldier even though she strongly expressed that she would leave if he did not stop.
The KATUSA soldier is known to have taken off her clothes and had sexual intercourse with the U.S. soldier.
When she seemed passive, he asked her if he was raping her. He allegedly stopped immediately when she said yes, and begged her to forgive him.
Soon after, the U.S. soldier filed rape charges against the KATUSA soldier.
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