Professor who countersued after accusing colleague of rape acquitted of defamation in final Supreme Court ruling

[Financial News] A professor who reported a colleague to the police for rape, claiming she had been sexually assaulted, but whose complaint was rejected by the police, prosecutors, and the court, was later countersued for defamation by spreading false information. The Supreme Court of Korea has now finalized a not-guilty verdict for the professor.
According to the legal community on the 5th, the Supreme Court Third Division, presided over by Justice Oh Seokjun, recently upheld a lower court ruling that acquitted Professor A, who had been indicted on charges of defamation by spreading false information.
Professor A, then a faculty member at Yeungnam University, filed a criminal complaint in April 2021, alleging that her colleague, Professor B, had raped her. She also asserted on three separate occasions in media interviews that she had been raped. However, the police concluded that there was insufficient evidence and decided not to refer the case for prosecution. After Professor A filed an objection, the case was forwarded to the prosecution, but prosecutors also issued a non-prosecution decision. She appealed, yet the Daegu High Prosecutors' Office dismissed the appeal, and her subsequent application for adjudication to compel prosecution was rejected by the Daegu High Court, bringing the case to an end.
Afterward, Professor B filed a counter-complaint against Professor A for defamation by spreading false information, leading to a criminal trial. The court of first instance found her guilty and sentenced her to eight months in prison, suspended for two years. The appellate court, however, ruled that it could not be proven that her statements claiming she had been raped were entirely false and therefore acquitted her. In reaching this conclusion, the court took into account circumstances such as Professor B calling Professor A after the alleged assault and saying things like "I think I made a mistake," and Professor A stating that "something that should never have happened has happened."
The Supreme Court of Korea found no error in the appellate ruling and dismissed the prosecution's appeal, thereby confirming the not-guilty verdict.

hwlee@fnnews.com Reporter Lee Hwanju Reporter