Korean man convicted in first transgender rape case

BUSAN, Feb. 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's court on Wednesday convicted a local man of raping a transgender woman in an unprecedented ruling that sets a new milestone in legal definitions of rape.

The 28-year-old unidentified attacker was given a three-year suspended jail term
on charges of raping the 58-year-old transgender woman in August of 2008 after
breaking into her home. The attacker also robbed the victim of 100,000 won
(US$70). The court also ordered the defendant to 120 hours of community service.
Prosecutors had sought a five-year jail sentence for the suspect.
The Busan District Court's decision to apply the charge of rape in their ruling
marks the first court ruling in a sexual assault case involving a transgender
woman. The victim underwent a sex-change operation 30 years ago.
Under current South Korean criminal law, rape can only be applied when the victim
is legally identified as a female.
"Considering that the victim has lived as a woman, finding comfort in living with
a male partner for over 10 years, the victim may be viewed as a legitimate victim
of a rape crime," the court said.
The Supreme Court refused to apply the charge of rape in a similar case brought
to court in 1996. But in 2006, the top court accepted the legal status of a
male-to-female transgender woman as a female for the first time in Korea,
signaling changing social and judicial attitudes.
According to the country's human rights watchdog, some 4,500 people in South
Korea identify themselves as cross-gender.
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