A 40 year-old South Korean woman named "Shim" will be the first woman in her country to be charged for "raping" her husband.
According to court proceedings today, the woman had locked her husband in their house for 29 hours so as to force him to have sex with her. The Seoul Central Prosecutor's Office said that the woman allegedly committed the offence so as to obtain "favorable evidence" for divorce procedures.
The prosecution said that the husband had gone to visit the woman's Seoul studio apartment in May to talk about seeking a divorce. However, the woman ordered her boyfriend to beat him and tie up his hands and feet with duct tape after removing all of his clothes.
The husband eventually called police after he managed to escape when the woman was outside.
While the woman claimed that the sexual intercourse was consensual, the husband denied it, saying he was forced to do it as he was afraid that she might kill him if he refused.
The couple has been married for more than 10 years, but they grew apart after the woman was convicted of fraud in the United Kingdom and in Korea. The woman had wanted to blackmail her husband to secure his statement that he be held responsible for breaking up the marriage.
Spousal rape has been recognized as a crime under South Korea law since May 2013. The United States, Britain, Germany and France have similar laws against marital rape.
In May 2013, a 46 year-old man became the first to be convicted of marital rape and sentenced to 3 and a half years jail. The court also ordered that he be publicly shamed by making his personal information available to the public for seven years. He is also required to wear an electronic anklet for 10 years after he is released from jail.
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