Retrial opens for S. Korean woman who bit off attempted rapist's tongue

Choi Mal-ja (C), who was convicted 61 years ago for biting off the tongue of her attempted rapist, reacts after her retrial hearing at the Busan District Court in Busan on July 23, 2025. (Photo by YONHAP / AFP)

A South Korean court reopened a decades-old case on Wednesday after the country's #MeToo movement inspired a woman to challenge her conviction for defending herself against sexual violence 61 years ago.

Choi Mal-ja was 19 when she was attacked by a 21-year-old man in the southern town of Gimhae in 1964.