A man is assaulting a female part-time worker at a convenience store in CCTV footage captured on Nov. 4, 2023, in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province. Yonhap

A 24-year-old man who assaulted a female convenience store clerk in the southeastern city of Jinju last year, calling her a "feminist" due to her short hair, has been sentenced to three years in prison in his appeal trial.

The court recognized the attack as a "misogynistic crime," marking the first time in South Korea that misogyny was acknowledged as a motive in a criminal ruling. The victim, who lost her hearing due to the attack, expressed relief at the "meaningful ruling."

The Changwon District Court's criminal division upheld Wednesday the original three-year sentence for the attacker, 24, citing "groundless hatred toward women" as the motive behind the crime.

The incident occurred in April last year, when the 24-year-old assaulted a female part-time worker at a convenience store in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, because of her short hairstyle, calling her a "feminist."

He also assaulted a 50-year-old customer who attempted to intervene. The victim permanently lost her hearing in one ear and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the attack. The 50-year-old customer sustained fractures and has been struggling with financial difficulties after losing his job due to the injuries.

Initially, the lower court accepted the 24-year-old's claim of being in a diminished mental state due to bipolar disorder and sentenced him to three years in prison without recognizing misogyny as a motive.

However, in the appeal, the court explicitly cited misogyny as the motive and criticized the 24-year-old perpetrator for not showing genuine remorse, despite submitting several letters of apology.

Women's rights groups welcomed the court's recognition of misogyny as a criminal motive, calling it a step forward, though they expressed disappointment that the court still acknowledged the mental health defense.

Lawyer Lee Kyung-ha, representing the victim, said, "It is significant the court clearly recognized the defendant's actions as motivated by misogyny, specifically by the belief that 'feminist women deserve to be hit.'"

The victim also shared her thoughts on her X account Wednesday, saying, "I'm glad a meaningful verdict has been reached," and added, "What helped me endure this past year was the solidarity and support I received from everyone since the incident became known and throughout the appeal trial."

Despite the ruling, there is still no specific law in South Korea that mandates harsher penalties for hate crimes, unlike in countries such as the United States, which have Hate Crimes Prevention Acts in place.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.