South Korea‘s ‘Squid Game’ actor O Yeong-su has been found guilty of sexual misconduct, a local court said Friday, after he was charged with assaulting a woman in 2017.
The 79-year-old actor, who was charged with two counts of sexual harassment in 2017, had denied the accusations, Nasdaq reports.
What Will O Do?
As he was leaving the court, O told reporters he planned to appeal against the decision. He has seven days to appeal or the ruling will be upheld.
The Seongnam branch of the Suwon District Court sentenced O to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, as well as 40 hours of attendance at a sexual violence treatment programme, the court official said by telephone.
Court Ruling
The victim’s own records of the assault and her claims are ‘consistent … and appear to be statements that cannot be made without actually experiencing them,’ judge Jeong Yeon-ju said, according to the court.
As he was leaving the court, O told reporters he planned to appeal against the decision. He has seven days to appeal or the ruling will be upheld.
Details of The Lawsuit
O was indicted in 2022 without detention on charges of sexually assaulting a woman, who has not been identified, on two occasions.
The incidents took place when O was staying in a rural area for a theatre performance in 2017, on a walking path and in front of the victim’s residence, respectively, according to the Suwon District Court.
Public’s Opinion
Womenlink, a women’s rights group in South Korea, welcomed the ruling and urged O to apologise to the victim.
‘The defendant resembles other offenders of sexual violence in theatre in the past who tried to cover up their sexual violence as ‘favour’ and ‘friendship’,’ the group said in a post on X.
The controversy over the accusations of sexual harassment saw him drop out of an upcoming film in South Korea.
The actor in 2022 became the first South Korean to win a Golden Globe Award for best supporting actor in a series for his performance as a seemingly vulnerable old man in the mega-hit Netflix dystopian thriller.
