Constitutional Court: "Once the assault victim expresses 'no desire to punish the perpetrator,' it cannot be changed"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The Constitutional Court has ruled that if a victim of assault clearly states once that they do not want the perpetrator to be punished, even if the victim later changes their mind and says they want punishment, the perpetrator cannot be prosecuted.

On the 26th, the Constitutional Court announced that it had unanimously decided to cancel the non-prosecution disposition given to Mr. A, who was granted a non-prosecution disposition by the prosecution on assault charges, after Mr. A filed a constitutional complaint requesting the cancellation of the prosecution's decision.

The Constitutional Court stated, "Since the victim clearly expressed their intention not to seek punishment from the beginning, even if the victim later wishes for punishment, it does not affect the validity of the initial expression of non-punishment," and ruled that the prosecution must issue a disposition of no prosecution against Mr. A.

In February, Mr. A kicked Mr. B in response to an assault by Mr. B and received a non-prosecution disposition from the prosecution.

During the police investigation, Mr. B stated that he did not want Mr. A to be punished for the assault, and this was recorded in the suspect interrogation report.

However, during a subsequent police investigation, Mr. B changed his statement, saying that Mr. A lied and he could not forgive him, thus wanting punishment.

The prosecution reflected Mr. B's changed intention and issued a non-prosecution disposition for Mr. A. A non-prosecution disposition means that although the criminal charge is acknowledged, considering the extent of the damage, the case is not brought to trial.

Mr. A filed a constitutional complaint requesting the cancellation of the non-prosecution disposition, citing Supreme Court precedents that in cases of crimes like assault, which require the victim's consent for prosecution, if the victim clearly expresses that they do not want punishment, changing their mind later has no effect.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.