A South Korean woman has been acquitted after a court revisited her decades-old conviction for biting off her attacker's tongue during an alleged sexual attack.
In 1965, Choi Mal-ja, 18, was convicted of inflicting bodily harm on a man, 21, after she bit a half inch off his tongue during an attempted rape.
On Wednesday, September 10, the court found her not guilty in a retrial after six decades.
At the time, the teen was sentenced to 10 months in jail, while her aggressor received a lighter sentence of six months and was never charged for attempted rape.
After a years-long campaign to clear her name, a retrial began in the southern city of Busan in July. In its first hearing, prosecutors surprised the court by issuing an apology to her.
"I could not let this case go unanswered... I [wanted] to stand up for other victims who share the same fate as mine," Choi said after the acquittal.
"People around me warned me that it would be like throwing eggs at a rock, but I could not let this case go," said the 79-year-old.
She thanked her supporters and called out those in power whom she said "abused their authority to trample the weak and manipulate the law".
Choi's case has been cited in legal textbooks in South Korea as a classic example of a court failing to recognise self-defence during sexual violence.
According to South Korean media, following the incident, the man continually demanded compensation for his injury and even broke into Choi's home with a knife on one occasion.
Choi Mal-ja's lawyer noted that she is planning to file a civil lawsuit against the state to seek compensation.