- O shot to superstardom and won a Golden Globe for his performance in Squid Game
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South Korea’s ‘Squid Game’ actor O Yeong-su has been found guilty of sexual misconduct, a local court said Friday, after he was accused of assaulting a woman in 2017.
In 2022, the 79-year-old 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.
The actor was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, the Seongnam branch of the Suwon District Court reported.
He has also been ordered to complete 40 hours of sexual assault education, the court added.
O Yeong-su, who starred in Netflix’s global TV sensation ‘Squid Game’, leaves the Suwon District Court in Suwon, about 30 km south of Seoul, South Korea, on March 15, 2024
In 2022, the 79-year-old became the first South Korean to win a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Series for his performance in Squid Game
South Korean actor O Yeong-Su attends the ‘Hansan: Rising Dragon’ VIP screening at Lotte Cinema Box on July 26, 2022 in Seoul, South Korea
The victim’s own account 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 left court, O told reporters he planned to appeal the decision. He has seven days to appeal or the ruling will be upheld.
O was indicted in 2022 without custody on charges of sexually assaulting a woman, who has not been identified, on two occasions.
The incidents took place when O stayed in a rural area for a theater performance in 2017, on a hiking trail and in front of the victim’s residence, respectively, according to the Suwon District Court.
Womenlink, a women’s rights group in South Korea, welcomed the verdict and called on O to apologize to the victim.
“The defendant resembles other perpetrators of sexual violence in the theater in the past who tried to cover up their sexual violence as ‘favor’ and ‘friendship,'” the group said in a post on X.
The controversy over the sexual harassment allegations caused him to drop out of an upcoming film in South Korea.
As he left court, O told reporters he planned to appeal the decision. He has seven days to appeal or the ruling will be upheld
O won Best Supporting Actor in Television at the Golden Globes for his role in ‘Squid Game’ in 2022, becoming the first South Korean to win the award.
Within less than four weeks of its 2021 release, Squid Game attracted a staggering 111 million viewers
O won Best Supporting Actor in Television at the Golden Globes for his role in ‘Squid Game’ in 2022, becoming the first South Korean to win the award.
He played the older character O II-nam, one of the main antagonists in the first season.
The series, which depicts a dark world where marginalized individuals are forced to compete in deadly versions of traditional children’s games, quickly gained immense popularity on Netflix.
Within less than four weeks of its release in 2021, it attracted a staggering 111 million viewers.
The show’s success has reinforced South Korea’s growing influence on global popular culture, following global fame won by the likes of K-pop band BTS and the Oscar-winning film ‘Parasite’.
Several figures in South Korea’s film industry – including the late filmmaker Kim Ki-duk and actor Cho Jae-hyun – have been accused of sexual abuse.