South Korean woman clears her name 6 decades after conviction for biting off sexual attacker's tongue

Seoul — A South Korean court acquitted on Wednesday a woman convicted six decades ago for defending herself against sexual violence, after she was inspired by the country's #MeToo movement to challenge the ruling.

Choi Mal-ja was 19 in 1964 when she was attacked by a 21-year-old man in the southern town of Gimhae. He pinned her to the ground and repeatedly forced his tongue into her mouth, at one point blocking her nose to stop her from breathing, according to court records.

Choi managed to break free by biting off about half of an inch of his tongue.

In one of South Korea's most contentious rulings on sexual violence, the aggressor received only six months in prison, suspended for two years, for trespassing and intimidation — but not attempted rape.

But Choi, now 79, was convict