"Female in her 30s Accuses Colleague of Sexual Assault, Exchanged Messages Reveal... Convicted of False Accusation"

Cheongju District Court Criminal Division 1 (Presiding Judge Nam Seong-woo) sentenced a woman in her 30s, identified as A, to two years in prison and ordered her immediate detention for false accusation charges.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] A woman in her 30s who filed a complaint claiming she was sexually assaulted by a coworker was sentenced to prison for false accusation.

On the 28th, according to the legal community, the Cheongju District Court Criminal Division 1 (Presiding Judge Nam Seongwoo) sentenced A (37) to two years in prison for false accusation and ordered her immediate detention.

A claimed that in 2019, she was sexually assaulted twice by her coworker B at the company dormitory and a motel, and filed a police complaint in May of last year.

In response, B denied having sexual intercourse at the dormitory where they were together, and stated that the sexual encounter at the motel was consensual. A insisted that she was intoxicated at the time and unable to make rational judgments.

The court did not accept A’s claims, citing that B’s testimony was consistent and detailed, whereas A reversed her statements after reviewing evidence such as dormitory entry records.

The court also pointed out that after the time A claimed the first assault occurred, she was the one who first sent messages to B to check on him and used various emoticons in their conversations.

Furthermore, although A claimed she was sexually assaulted while intoxicated at the motel in November of the same year, the court stated that the recorded conversations and atmosphere clearly indicated consensual sexual relations. The fact that the two left the motel in the morning and took a taxi together to the company was another reason the court found A’s testimony unreliable.

The court explained the sentencing rationale, saying, "False accusation causes confusion in the state’s investigation and judicial functions and generates unnecessary social costs. It is a crime that causes pain and harm to the accused, so it must be punished severely."

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