Supreme Court upholds five-year term for Air Force colonel in rape case
The colonel was convicted of attempting to rape and injuring a junior female officer under his command in 2024.
The Supreme Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul
NEWS1
The Supreme Court has upheld a five-year prison sentence for an Air Force colonel convicted of attempting to rape and injuring a junior female officer under his command.
The court confirmed the lower court ruling on Wednesday and sentenced the colonel to five years in prison on charges including rape resulting in injury against a fellow service member. The court also ordered him to complete 40 hours of a sexual violence treatment program and barred him from working at institutions related to children, teenagers and people with disabilities for seven years.
The colonel was indicted and detained on charges of attempting to rape the junior officer at his official residence in October 2024, during which he inflicted injuries requiring two weeks of treatment for the victim. He was also accused of forcibly molesting her in a taxi and elsewhere after a work dinner.
The colonel denied the allegations and claimed that no such acts had occurred, but the courts rejected his argument.
“Sexual crimes against service members deserve particularly strong condemnation, because they not only violate victims’ sexual self-determination but also undermine a healthy military culture, disrupt military organization and discipline and can adversely affect efforts to maintain discipline in the armed forces,” the trial court said.
The colonel appealed, but the appellate court reached the same conclusion, as did the Supreme Court.
The military sexual violence counseling center under the Center for Military Human Rights Korea, which had first brought the case to public attention, welcomed the ruling in a statement issued after the decision.
“We welcome this ruling, which holds the perpetrator publicly accountable after he continued to inflict secondary harm on the victim by maintaining his claim of innocence, among other actions,” the center said. “We strongly call for severe punishment of sexual crimes involving abuses of power, and for solidarity to help victims return to their everyday lives.”
BY JANG GU-SEUL [kim.hayoon1@joongang.co.kr]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
