SOUTH Korean actor O Yeong-su, known for his role on Netflix’s ‘Squid Game’ was found guilty of sexual misconduct by a district court last Friday.
Following an incident that happened 5 years ago—the 79-year-old was sentenced to eight months in prison, two years of suspension, and 40 hours of sexual abuse education by the Seongnam, Gyeonggi, branch of Suwon District Court.
According to Yonhap news agency, the allegations were when he hugged a woman and kissed her on the cheek without her consent. The incident occurred in a rural area where O was staying for a theater performance–on a walking path in front of the victim’s residence.
AFP reported that Judge Jeong Yeon-ju ruled that the victim’s misconduct records and her claims were “consistent…and appear to be statements that cannot be made without actually experiencing them.”
O was also indicted in November of last year when then member of a theater troupe where O was also in—allegedly claimed that he sexually assaulted her in September of 2017.
The victim’s lawyer stated that the actor had taken advantage of his superior position in the troupe to sexually harass the victim more than once.
According to the JTBC, O said that he offered an apology to the woman not because he acknowledged the accusations against him but rather because the woman allegedly told him she “wouldn’t raise an issue’ about the incident if he did.
“When my client confronted Mr. O and demanded an apology from him after the incident, he admitted his wrongs. However, now he is denying all charges and my client is thus suffering additional pain. Even now, she is engulfed in trauma as Mr. O fails to show any remorse for his crimes,” the lawyer said.
O later denied the allegations–stating that he had only held the woman’s hand to “lead her the way” as they roamed around the lake.
Upon leaving the court O told the reporters that he plans to appeal against the decision. He has 7 days to appeal otherwise the ruling will be validated.
The next trial for the case is scheduled for April 14 and will resume closed-door.
In December 2021, the alleged victim reportedly filed a complaint against the actor but the case was closed last April of last year without any charges brought against O’s wrongdoings.
The prosecution was later re-opened the investigation last November as she appealed.
As the sexual assault accusations went public, the actor is said to have had his parts in Yang Woo Suk’s new film “Big Family,” to be edited out.
According to Lotte Entertainment, all the scenes with O will be removed from the film, and is set to be replaced with actor Lee Soon-Jae.
O–who’s real name is Oh Se-Kang first debuted as an actor in 1963.
O’s name first became big after playing as the antagonist elderly character on Netflix’s hit show ‘Squid Game.’ He later received an award for Best Supporting Actor in Television at the Global Globes for his role in 2022, making him the first South Korean to win the award.
