A South Korean woman has been acquitted after a court revisited her decades-old conviction for biting off the tongue of a man during an alleged sexual attack.

Choi Mal-ja was 18 when she was convicted of grievous bodily harm and sentenced to 10 months in jail. Her aggressor, who was 21, received a lighter sentence of six months.

After a years-long campaign to clear her name, a retrial began in the southern city of Busan in July. In its first hearing, prosecutors apologised to her and, in an unusual move, asked the court to quash the conviction.

I could not let this case go unanswered... I [wanted] to stand up for other victims who share the same fate as mine, Ms Choi said after the acquittal.

As a teenager back then, the incident changed her fate by turning [me] from a victim to an accused.

People around me warned me that it would be like throwing eggs at a rock, but I could not let this case go, said Ms Choi, now 79.

She thanked her supporters, and called out those in power whom she said abused their authority to trample the weak and manipulate the law.

According to court records, the attacker had pinned Ms Choi to the ground somewhere in the southern town of Gimhae. She only managed to break free after biting off about 1.5cm of his tongue.

The man continually demanded compensation for his injury and even broke into Ms Choi's home with a knife on one occasion. In one of South Korea's most contentious rulings on sexual violence, the man received a six-month suspended sentence for trespassing and intimidation but was never charged for attempted rape.

Ms Choi was sentenced for causing grievous bodily harm, as the court determined her actions exceeded the reasonable bounds of self-defense.

Determined, Ms Choi reached out to advocacy groups for help, gathering evidence for a retrial. Lower courts initially rejected her application, citing insufficient evidence for self-defense claims.

In December 2024, South Korea's Supreme Court granted her application to reopen the case.

Outside the court on Wednesday, Ms Choi and her supporters celebrated with placards expressing their joy. Ms Choi plans to file a civil lawsuit against the state for her previous conviction.

The case has raised awareness about women's rights in South Korea and the legal recognition of self-defense in sexual violence situations.

The Korea Women's Hotline expressed hope that Choi's acquittal will pave the way for greater justice for victims of sexual violence.