Actor Oh Yeong-Su, best-known for playing the oldest contestant in Netflix’s mega-popular series Squid Game, has been found guilty of sexual misconduct, a South Korean court ruled on Friday.
A district court judge in Seongnam, a city southeast of Seoul, ruled in favour of an unnamed female actor who accused Oh, 79, of inappropriately hugging her, holding her hand and kissing her cheek several times in 2017.
Oh was ordered to serve an eight-month suspended sentence and must attend 40 hours of classes on sexual violence, the New York Times reported.
He has denied the charges against him, and his lawyers plan to appeal the verdict.
Though he has long been one of South Korea’s most well-known stage actors, Oh reached international fame for his portrayal of Oh Il-nam, also called Player 001, in Squid Game.
Oh Yeong-su in ‘Squid Games.’.
Netflix via AP
In 2022, he became the first-ever South Korean actor to win a Golden Globe for the role.
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Oh’s legal trouble surrounding the sexual misconduct charges impeded his ability to work as an actor, even before Friday’s verdict. He will not be involved in the upcoming second season of Squid Game, which is expected to be released this year. Oh has also been dropped from other movie and commercial projects in South Korea.
The actor who accused Oh of misconduct brought her allegations to police in 2021. The woman said she waited four years to pursue legal action because the widespread success of Squid Game prompted her to demand an apology from Oh.
An initial investigation into her allegations was dropped but later reopened after the accuser appealed and more evidence was presented. Oh was officially charged in 2022.
The woman said Oh inappropriately touched her numerous times in August and September of 2017. She said Oh, in addition to hugging and kissing her cheek without consent, also laid down in her rented room and made potentially inappropriate sexual comments.
Judge Jeong Yeon-ju said there was enough evidence — including diary entries written by the accuser and records of sexual violence counselling she received in 2018 — to support the woman’s allegations.
Oh denied kissing the woman but said he did hold her hand while she helped the actor carry various items. He apologized, though he said his apology was not an admission of guilt.
In South Korea, it is common for victims of sexual crimes not to be publicly identified.
The trial was not open to the public.
Squid Game is still the most-watched TV show ever streamed on Netflix.
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