South Korean intelligence officers charged with raping defector from North

South Korea’s military prosecutors indicted a master sergeant and a lieutenant colonel of the Defence Intelligence Command on charges of raping a female North Korean defector, Yonhap News Agency reported officials as saying today.

The two were accused of abusing their authority to rape the victim between May 2018 and February last year while she was under their protection and supervision for espionage operations, officials at the military prosecution said.

The master sergeant allegedly had the victim drink alcohol before raping her in May 2018 following which he habitually committed sexual crimes against her, while the lieutenant colonel also raped her after she asked him for help, officials said.

The victim filed a criminal complaint against the two last year. A lawyer for the victim said at the time that she became pregnant twice and was pressured to have abortions.

The two have been under investigation since being removed from their duties.

Military authorities plan to launch a disciplinary process as soon as a court verdict is finalised.