Advocates file constitutional complaint over acquittal on lack of resistance in sexual assault case
Published: 23 Apr. 2026, 19:03
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- KIM JI-YE
- [email protected]
![Members of a joint committee that is filing a constitutional complaint on nonconsensual sexual violence hold signs reading “Sex without consent is rape” and “Don’t ask whether there was resistance. Ask whether there was consent” during a press conference in front of the Constitutional Court in Jongno District, central Seoul, on April 23. [NEW1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/04/23/8c6eff5a-8b71-4f44-a67a-7ba6a1aeb8ad.jpg)
Members of a joint committee that is filing a constitutional complaint on nonconsensual sexual violence hold signs reading “Sex without consent is rape” and “Don’t ask whether there was resistance. Ask whether there was consent” during a press conference in front of the Constitutional Court in Jongno District, central Seoul, on April 23. [NEW1]
Women's rights advocates filed a constitutional complaint against a high court decision that acquitted an alleged sex criminal despite the victim refusing 75 times in an hour.
The coalition of six civic groups condemned a high court ruling, which found the defendant not guilty because he "did not make any threats or commit assault to a degree that makes resistance impossible."
The coalition did not disclose the name of the court to protect the victim’s identity. According to the victim, the first trial ruling stated that the victim clearly expressed refusal at the time of the incident. Despite this, the court also wrote in the same ruling that “it cannot be ruled out that the defendant may not have accurately understood the victim’s inner intent.”
“The court gave more weight to the perpetrator’s subjective interpretation of the victim’s inner intent than to the dozens of clear refusals expressed by the victim,” a representative of the coalition said during a press conference in front of the Constitutional Court in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Thursday.
The coalition said the ruling applied a narrow interpretation of sexual assault in ruling that the violence or threats did not reach a level that would make resistance impossible. The decision was later finalized without a Supreme Court review after the prosecution chose not to appeal.
The coalition called the ruling unconstitutional, arguing that it infringes on fundamental rights such as the victim’s sexual self-determination.
“Although more than 35 years have passed since the legal interest protected by rape laws shifted from ‘female chastity’ to ‘sexual self-determination,’ the judiciary remains stuck in the past,” the coalition said. “The judiciary has failed in its duty to protect fundamental rights.”
The groups also criticized the acquittal as effectively telling victims to risk their safety to resist, saying, “The victim is left to live with a lifelong sense of guilt for not being able to resist," adding, “Why are victims still being asked to prove they resisted with all their might in cases involving nonconsensual sexual penetration, which is a serious physical violation?”
It also cited that “constitutional complaint is the last resort for the victim.”
BY KIM JI-YE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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