By Lee Kyung-min



A 40-year-old woman who allegedly raped her husband was put behind bars, the prosecution said Friday.



She has become the first woman to face a rape charge following the Supreme Court ruling in 2013 that recognized both men and women as the potential victims of the crime for the first time. Prior to that decision, only women were recognized as victims.



The Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant for her, while denying one sought against her boyfriend, who was accused of assisting in the alleged crime.



The prosecution said the woman, whose identity is being withheld, confined her husband in her Seoul studio for two days in May when he visited her to talk about seeking a divorce. She was alleged to have ordered her boyfriend to beat him and tie up his hands and feet with duct tape after removing all of his clothes.



The husband eventually called police after he managed to escape when the woman was outside.



While the woman claimed that the sexual intercourse was consensual, the husband denied it, saying he was forced to do it as he was afraid that she might kill him if he refused.



The couple has been married for more than 10 years, and they grew apart after the woman was convicted of fraud in the United Kingdom and in Korea.



The prosecution said the woman is suspected of blackmailing her husband to secure his statement that he be held responsible for breaking up the marriage.



She told the prosecution that she committed the crime after her husband's family asked him to end their marriage.



Earlier in April, Korea prosecuted the first attempted rape case involving a woman as the alleged perpetrator. The Seoul Central District Court in August acquitted the woman of attempted rape against her boyfriend citing a lack of evidence. The Seoul High Court is reviewing the case.



