Woman who bit off attacker's tongue recommended for non-indictment

Gwangnam Police Station located in Suyeong District, Busan / Korea Times photo by Lee Han-ho

By Lee Hyo-jin

The police have recommended non-indictment for a woman who bit off part of a man's tongue in self-defense, according to Busan Nambu Police Station, Tuesday.

While forwarding the case to the prosecution, the police announced that they did not find legal grounds to charge the woman, who bit off approximately three centimeters of the man's tongue when he tried to rape her.

The man claimed that the woman in her 20s caused the man in his 30s severe injury through excessive self-defense.

Under Korea's criminal law, it is permissible to use reasonable force to defend oneself or others, but overwhelming counteractions may not be recognized as self-defense.

“Although her actions exceeded normal limits of self-defense, based on discussions with external experts and lawyers, we came to the conclusion that it can be justified according to Article 21 of the Criminal Law Act,” said an officer from the police station.

The man made a report at a Gwangnam police station in Busan's Suyeong District, immediately after his tongue was bitten.

Earlier that day, the woman, who was in Busan for vacation, was sitting drunk on a street in the Seomyeon area around 8 a.m. The man spotted her while driving, stopped and offered her a ride to her hotel.

The woman agreed but once in the vehicle he drove in the opposite direction of the hotel and parked the car at a deserted place near Mount Hwangnyeong around 9:25 a.m. Shortly after parking he attempted to sexually assault her in the car.

The police collected evidence indicating the act was not consensual based on investigation of footage from surveillance cameras and the dashboard camera installed in the car. The authorities forwarded him to the prosecution with recommendation of indictment on charges of illegal confinement and sexual assault.