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| Lee Jin-wook / Korea Times file |
By Ko Dong-hwan
A court has ruled in favor of a woman who actor Lee Jin-wook countersued for falsely accusing him of raping her, concluding her claim is not totally groundless.
Seoul Central District Court ruled Wednesday that the woman, identified by the surname Oh, 33, is not guilty because there is not enough evidence.
The pair allegedly had sex in July 2016 when Lee visited her home late at night to install blinds. She offered him a shower and gave him a T-shirt to wear before they had sex.
Oh sued Lee later that month for rape and Lee filed a countersuit for a false accusation. Seoul Suseo police sent the case to prosecutors after an investigation, during which she submitted underwear she claimed she had worn when she had sex with Lee. Police found Lee's DNA on the underwear.
"The fact that Lee visited Oh's apartment and that she offered him a shower and gave him the shirt suggest that they had agreed on having sex," the court said. "However, there is also a possibility that she acted purely on graciousness."
The court said that Oh consistently insisted during questioning that the sex was not agreed on and that she vividly expressed how shameful she felt afterwards. She could have even felt fear when they had sex soon after Lee came to her home purportedly to install the blinds, the court said.
"Even from Lee's statements, it appeared he neither asked her whether she agreed to have sex with him nor she consented to that," the court said. "It is thus plausible that Lee's false accusation charge does not have any evidence."
