By Some how I missed this from earlier in the week but what a horrible story this is:
A court handed down suspended jail terms to four family members who repeatedly raped a teenage relative who suffered from an intellectual disability.
The Cheongju District Court Thursday sentenced an 87-year-old grandfather and two uncles of a 16-year-old girl to four-year suspended prison terms for sexually assaulting and raping the girl for the last seven years. Another uncle received a three-year suspended jail term.
The court acknowledged that their crime was “sinful” as they used the young girl, who is their family member, to satisfy their sexual desires. But it gave the suspended terms, saying, “The accused have fostered the girl in her parents’ place. Considering her disability, she will also need their care and help in living in the future.”
The court added it took the accused people’s old age and illness into consideration.
Citizens strongly denounced the ruling, saying the punishments were too lenient for the grave crime. Internet users said it is absurd to release them to “take care of her,” as she needs help from others, not from rapists. They also said those committing such a crime do not deserve consideration regarding old age or illnesses.
Some bloggers are collecting signatures to oust the judge who made the ruling. The prosecution also decided to appeal. “One of them even has a previous conviction for rape but was given a suspended term. The ruling is unacceptable,” a prosecutor said. [Korea Times]
Brian in Jeollanam-do, Robert Koehler, Korea Sparkle and Wizbang has much more on this including information on signing a petition condemning this ruling.
For those surprised by this ruling don’t be, because this is pretty much standard practice in Korea. For example a 19 year old USFK private that just arrived at Incheon Airport and took a taxi to Yongsan to inprocess was raped by the cab driver and the charges against the cab driver were dropped because the victim didn’t resist enough:
The Seoul High Court yesterday overturned the conviction by a lower court of a 49-year old taxi driver who had been charged with the rape of a 19-year old U.S. female soldier.
The man had received a 10-month prison term in the original trial after being convicted of luring the newly-arrived servicewoman from Incheon International Airport to a hotel near there where the woman said he raped her.The woman reported the incident to U.S. military authorities, who asked for assistance from Korean prosecutors. The appeals court ruled that the woman had shown no evidence of having refused the man’s advances, and that he used “not enough violence to constitute rape.”
Another example worth reading is the sexual assualt of a woman by the name of Winter Raymond who was a cast member on the Korean show “Beauties Chatterbox”. Truly disgusting what happened to her.
However, if a USFK servicemember is implicated in a rape case he is convicted and sent to jail even if he didn’t do it. Like I said before this is an outrageous ruling but consistent with other rape cases in Korea. People should not be just upset with this ruling but the Korean justice system as a whole that allows ruling such as this to become possible.
10:42 am on November 28th, 2008 1
This should give some more perspective on Korean attitudes to 'sex crimes.'
Actress Could Face 18 Months in Jail for Adultery
I guess 'consent' weighs a lot less heavily here.
12:36 pm on November 28th, 2008 2
Historically, is this a continuation of a society inside always looking out? Known as the hermit kingdom for many years in history, are the foriegners still seen in the same light? Why such a modern country still judiciates unfairly to outsiders is a mystery to me. It would seem they would have developed a better concept of the world community by now.
1:36 pm on November 28th, 2008 3
Exactly why the Korean society needs to be put into context, as to the level that it REALLY holds in civilization.
If you can find enough info to conduct a reasonable study of Asian societies in this realm, just based on the criminal justice systems, then I'm sure you would be appalled.
As someone who has lived in Asia on a full time basis for over a decade…NOT protected by some SOFA agreement, and has been a victim of serious crime and has suffered from a racist judical system that has denied us justice, and has even tried to turn the entire situation around, thus making US out to be the bad guys, for the sole purpose of extortion…I can speak from first-hand experience as to the Asian mentality when it comes to foreigners and justice in Asia.
Asians are blatantly racist…cut & dry. All of the Kumbaya crowd will immediately counter this with their limited experience in Asia, but until you have dealt with Asians in THEIR criminal justice system, then IMHO, you are NOT qualified to speak on the subject.
3:34 pm on November 28th, 2008 4
CALMSEAS,
I'm not convinced its racism. As my wife (korean) once explaned it to me, if you are not Korean, then you are a non person. Koreans pride themselves on being a homogenious society. Always have been Korean always will be. If you are not from the Korean society then you are an outsider. I don't believe it is racism in the western context, I believe it has more to do with history and a closed society for many, many years. A view of the outside world developed uniquely from a Korean viewpoint. I doubt in the current world of political correctness you would find anyone wanting to deal with the issue.
8:54 pm on November 28th, 2008 5
"Koreans pride themselves on being a homogenious society."
True, but some Koreans like to engage in self delusion when they think it's convenient.
Program opens to train multiculturalism experts
A nation with a multiethnic and multicultural society? Oh, really?
6:40 am on November 29th, 2008 6
"…if you are not Korean, then you are a non person."
…and what planet would you have to be from to say that that is NOT Racism?
I have heard all of this "We are not racist" coming from Asians over the years/decades, but when defined:
"the belief that human races have distinctive characteristics which determine their respective cultures, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule or dominate others."
These excuses for how these Asian societies behave fall right in line, almost verbatim, with the commonly given definition.
To put it in simpler terms…when you are discriminated against because of your race, religion, creed, or nationality…then that is pretty much racism.
To be classified as a "Non-person" by Koreans and to be the subject of racism by Asians in general, is laughable at best, since they are for the most part still living in some Third World mental defeciency, where everybody else is screwed up, but they can do no wrong…no matter how glaringly the daily headlines say otherwise.
What is ironic, is that when Asians come to America, they can often be seen as screaming for their "Rights" under OUR constitution, louder than anyone else, but in THEIR country they would deny us the same rights, saying things like "We are only visitors here and if we cannot behave then we should leave," or my all-time favorite "They can afford it" when they attempt to rip us off.
Also, how openly they use their so-called judical systems to railroad foreigners into being found guilty, regardless of the circumstances/evidence laid out, with blatant EXTORTION routinely as the barely disguised objective.
Of course our self-serving DoS and military authorities are only too willing to sell us out in the name of "International Relations," as they know they are protected beyond a doubt.
News Flash…What Goes Around, Comes Around…
11:14 am on November 30th, 2008 7
[...] even get to keep the girl, but if you have an affair, you get 2 years in jail.Good blog commentary here, here, and here for the first, and here and here for the second.Tags: korea: [...]
7:37 pm on December 4th, 2008 8
[...] that comes up repeatedly, especially in a case like last week where family members who raped their handicapped teenage relative for years were given no jail time and even given back custody of the kid they had been raping. [...]
10:25 pm on December 7th, 2008 9
[...] Court Rules that Family Can Keep Teenager they 28/11/2008 at 11:10 pm [...]
7:38 am on December 15th, 2008 10
Korean's are "one race" meaning any non Korean isn't a person in their eyes. That IS racist, pure and simple.
I see many entries talking about how American's get the shaft when being before a Korean court system, and now one simply forgets what has been done over the years? This happens because the courts like the populace are of "one race". This practice means Korean's can do no wrong and foreigners are responsible when stuff happens.
If a round eye is around when trouble breaks out, just who is going to get the blame? People notice stuff that is out of place and we round eyes are NOT the norm to most Korean folks.
12:44 am on June 7th, 2009 11
"I don’t believe it is racism in the western context"
Which translates into only westerners can be racist.
11:46 am on October 1st, 2009 12
good post and comments