South Korean actor O Yeong-su, renowned for his role in the global phenomenon Squid Game, has been convicted of sexual misconduct charges dating back to 2017. The charges stem from an incident where he allegedly hugged and kissed a woman against her will.
A sentence of up to eight months imprisonment, suspended for two years, was handed down to the 79-year-old actor on Friday by the Seongnam Branch of the Suwon District Court.
The actor denied the charges and said he would be appealing the Friday ruling while speaking to reporters outside the court.
During the 2017 incident in question, O allegedly hugged the victim and kissed her on the cheek against her wishes.
The actor, who bagged a Golden Globe nomination for his role as Oh Il-nam in the world-acclaimed Squid Game series, previously addressed the 2017 incident and claimed he was holding the victim’s hand to guide her around a lake.
Actor O Yeong-su, known across the world for his performance in Squid Game, is accused of hugging and kissing a woman against her will
“I apologized because [the person] said she wouldn’t make a fuss about it but it doesn’t mean that I admit the charges,” he previously said.
The court said they felt the victim would not have made her statements without actually having experienced the inappropriate actions at the hands of the actor.
“The content of the victim’s journal, and the content of her counseling after the incident is consistent with what happened, and her testimonies could not have been given unless she actually experienced it,” the court said in its verdict.
The Golden Globe-nominated actor denied the charges against him and claimed he was guiding the woman around the lake during the incident in question
South Korean women’s rights group Womenlink said they were happy with the Friday ruling.
“The defendant resembles other offenders of sexual violence in theater in the past who tried to cover up their sexual violence as ‘favor’ and ‘friendship,’” the group wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The group was also quoted saying the actor should apologize to the victim instead of denying the charges against him.
“Now we can say that the sexual violence in the theater is not an old custom but sexual violence. The accused must stop trying to make his assault go away, apologize to the victim and accept his mistake,” the feminist organization said.
People online were displeased by the news, with one calling the actor a “creeper in the movie and creeper in real life”
