A court has ruled that a woman who inevitably drove under the influence to escape a sexual assault crisis cannot be held criminally liable.
The Cheongju District Court's Chungju Branch Criminal Division 1 has acquitted a woman, identified as A, who was indicted on charges of drunk driving.
A was put on trial on charges of driving about 10 kilometers with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.094 percent at a lodging establishment in Chungju in June of last year.
At the time, A, who was sleeping at the lodging, woke up upon realizing she was falling victim to quasi-rape, hurriedly gathered her clothes and belongings, left the room, and got into her car.
As the male assailant pursued her, A drove about 11 kilometers, parked on the shoulder of the road, and reported the crime to the police.
The court judged that A's actions constituted an "emergency escape," finding that considering the specific circumstances, her act was exceptionally justified, thereby removing its illegality.
An "emergency escape" refers to an act unavoidably committed to avert a present danger to the life, body, liberty, or property of oneself or another person.
The court stated, "It appears that there was no one other than A's party at the lodging in question, and the lodging was also in a remote location with no pedestrians around during the early morning hours." It added, "Under these circumstances, it appears it was impossible for the defendant to escape the scene of the quasi-rape by asking others for help, calling a taxi or designated driver, or walking away at the time of the incident."
The male assailant responsible for the sexual assault was recently sentenced to 3 years in prison for the quasi-rape crime.
(Reported by Lee Ho-geon | Video by Na Hong-hee | Graphics by Lee Jung-joo | Produced by SBS Digital News)
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