성추행 삼촌 폭행에, 흉기 든 조카…대법 “정당행위, 맥락 봐야”

In a recent legal decision, the Supreme Court of Korea overturned its earlier ruling regarding a case involving incestuous assault, a husband's violent response, and a son's threats with a weapon. The court's main panel had previously convicted a 39-year-old man (identified as ㄱ) of special coercion and sentenced his 76-year-old father (identified as ㄴ) to one year in prison and his 39-year-old son (identified as ㄱ) to a suspended one-year prison term for assault.

The case began when ㄱ, at the age of 9 or 10, claimed in a text message that his father had sexually assaulted him, leading to a series of violent confrontations.

Initially, the lower court sentenced ㄱ for special coercion and ㄴ for assault. However, upon appeal to the Supreme Court, the case was reopened on June 25th. The Supreme Court ruled that ㄱ's actions constituted "justified action" and could not be punished. The court stated that ㄱ's behavior, in defense of himself and his father, was justified by the gravity of the situation, the nature of the threat, and the urgency of protecting his life.

Furthermore, the Supreme Court emphasized that ㄴ's violent behavior, their history together, and the gender dynamics played a significant role in ㄱ's actions. The court concluded that ㄴ's actions were the primary responsibility in this case, and ㄱ's response was comparatively minor in severity and the level of harm caused.