[Herald DB]
[Herald DB]

A woman who grabbed a knife to defend herself against an uncle who had sexually abused her as a child — and then attacked her when she spoke out — has had her conviction overturned by the Supreme Court, which ruled she had acted in self-defense.

Legal sources said Wednesday that the Supreme Court's First Division overturned the lower court's guilty verdict against the defendant, identified only as A, who had been charged with aggravated intimidation, and sent the case back to Incheon District Court.

In January 2023, A told family members that her 76-year-old uncle had sexually abused her as a child.

The uncle then went to A's home, punched her and threw a drawer at her. A grabbed a knife and threatened him with it.

Prosecutors indicted both A and her uncle — A on aggravated intimidation charges and the uncle on assault charges.

At trial, A was fined 3 million won ($2,120) and the uncle was fined 5 million won. The second-instance court acknowledged A's claim of justifiable conduct in sentencing and suspended her sentence.

The Supreme Court recognized A's actions as justifiable and reversed the lower court's ruling in favor of acquittal, saying her conduct was "a passive, defensive response to an unjust attack by someone who came to her home without warning, used physical violence and threatened her with a weapon."

The court noted that the uncle bore primary and greater responsibility for the circumstances that led to the confrontation, adding that "A's actions in response to the assault and threats were relatively far less severe, and the harm suffered by A was greater."


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