South Korean Police Decline To Detain A Rape Suspect Because “He Is Old”

A rape suspect in South Korea was able to remain at home after police decided he was “too old” to detain.

A media report showed that an 80-year-old man suspected of rape was not arrested and allowed to remain at home unsupervised. The suspect was accused of attacking a woman in her 80s in her apartment in Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province, on June 2, 2023.

The victim’s son saw the attack and overpowered the suspect before calling the police and turning him over.

Once there, police questioned the suspect but did not arrest him; instead, they sent him home. According to the police officials, the suspect’s age and the fact that they knew where he lived showed that he posed no threat of running away.

South Korean law allows police to arrest suspects without warrants if there is probable cause that they have committed a crime punishable by at least three years in prison. Anyone, including non-police, can legally arrest those caught in the act of a crime, like in this case.

Prosecutors were asked to charge the suspect with rape causing injury, but other than a warning to not approach the victim, they did not take any further action.

The victim’s son reportedly shared that his mother is “practically imprisoned” because the suspect is still technically at large.

[The suspect] is still roaming free about the neighborhood. He is free while my mother is practically imprisoned.

— Victim’s Son.

South Korea has often been criticized for how cases involving sexual assault are handled, including the questionably light sentences some perpetrators receive in comparison to non-violent drug-related crimes.