- O became a superstar and won a Golden Globe for his performance in Squid Game
South Korean “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.
The 79-year-old became the first South Korean to win a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Series in 2022 for his performance as a seemingly vulnerable old man in the megahit Netflix dystopian thriller.
The actor was sentenced to eight months in prison, with two years suspended, the Seongnam Division of Suwon District Court said.
He has also been ordered to attend 40 hours of classes on sexual violence, 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, March 15, 2024
The 79-year-old became the first South Korean to win a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Series in 2022 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 details of the assault and her allegations are “consistent… and appear to be statements that cannot be made without actually experiencing them,” Judge Jeong Yeon-ju said, the court heard.
As he left the court, O told reporters he planned to appeal the decision. He has seven days to appeal, otherwise the ruling will be upheld.
O was indicted twice in 2022 without detention on charges of sexually assaulting a woman, who has not been identified.
The incidents occurred when O was staying in a rural area for a theater performance in 2017, on a hiking trail and in front of the victim’s home respectively, the Suwon District Court said.
Womenlink, a women’s rights organization in South Korea, welcomed the ruling and urged O to apologize to the victim.
“The suspect resembles other perpetrators of sexual violence in the theater who in the past 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 the court, O told reporters he planned to appeal the decision. He has seven days to appeal, otherwise the ruling will be upheld
O won Best Supporting Actor on 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 whopping 111 million viewers
O won Best Supporting Actor on 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 of 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 became extremely popular on Netflix.
Within less than four weeks of its 2021 release, it attracted a whopping 111 million viewers.
The show’s success has added to South Korea’s growing influence on global popular culture, after gaining global fame through the likes of K-pop band BTS and the Oscar-winning film “Parasite.”
Several figures from the South Korean film industry – including late filmmaker Kim Ki-duk and actor Cho Jae-hyun – have faced allegations of sexual abuse.