By Park Si-soo
A man was cleared of sexual violence charges raised after he shared self-taken naked photos of his girlfriend with her.
The Supreme Court made the ruling on Wednesday after confirming the naked photos that the man took against her will in 2016 were shared only between him and his girlfriend.
The top court said Korean law punishes unapproved sharing of photos or video clips that cause sexual humiliation. But this rule is applied only when the content is shared with a third person, it ruled.
“In this case, the sharing was done exclusively between the man and woman,” the court wrote in its ruling statement. “Even though the photos were taken and shared against her will, it's hard to see the woman as a third person.”
The top court cleared the man of the sexual violence charge, but upheld a six-month jail term imposed for his physical violence against the woman that occurred when the couple clashed over the naked photos. The court suspended the jail term for two years, meaning unless he commits a similar crime during the period, the prison term will be considered to have been fulfilled.