Squid Game actor Oh Yeong-su sentenced after being found guilty of sexual misconduct
Warning: Contains reference to assault and sexual misconduct
Squid Game actor Oh Yeong-su has been sentenced after being found guilty in South Korea of sexual misconduct.
Oh, who is 79 years old, entered the spotlight in 2021 when he portrayed Player No. 001 in the gripping Netflix series that took the world by storm.
The actor was honored with an Emmy nomination for his role in Squid Game, and even made history when he became the first South Korean to win a Golden Globe.
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Just a few months after his win, Oh was charged after a female actor filed a complaint in 2021 accusing him of inappropriately touching her twice while they worked together in a play in 2017.
Prosecutors initially dropped the case after a police investigation but the woman appealed to reopen the case, allowing more evidence to be gathered and Oh to be charged.
After the charge was first reported in November 2022, Oh told South Korean broadcaster JTBC that he had held the accuser's hand to guide her during a walk around a lake.
According to the Yonhap news agency, the woman alleged that he hugged her and kissed her on the cheek against her will.
Oh did not admit guilt, but claimed he had apologized to the woman, alleging she had said she wouldn't take the issue further if he did.
The actor attended his first court hearing in February 2023, and told reporters at the time: “I am sorry. I think I behaved badly.”
Today (15 March), a district court in Seongnam, a city southeast of Seoul, found Oh guilty of indecent assault.
According to DPP law, an indecent assault offence is 'generally defined as “unwanted sexual contact” but does not extend to sexual assault or rape'.
The charge carries a potential prison sentence of up to 10 years or a fine of up to 15 million South Korean won ($11,400) in the country, but last month prosecutors instead said last month they would seek a one-year sentence and an employment ban if Oh was convicted.
In the court today, Oh was handed an eight-month suspended sentence and ordered to attend 40 hours of classes on sexual violence.
The impacts of the charge went beyond the sentencing as Oh lost out on work after it was announced.
He was not cast in the upcoming second season of Squid Game, and has had his scenes deleted from an upcoming film titled About Family, directed by Woo-seok Yang.
Oh was also dropped last year from the cast of a South Korean play titled Love Letter.
Following the events today, Oh has said he will appeal against the verdict - of which he has seven days to do so.
Emily Brown