#SHOWBIZ: 'Squid Game' actor's sexual misconduct conviction overturned

SEOUL: The sexual misconduct conviction of Squid Game actor Oh Young-soo has been overturned.

AsiaOne reported yesterday that the 81-year-old star was initially convicted of two counts of sexual harassment in March 2024.

However, the Suwon District Court in South Korea has now reversed the lower court’s ruling.

The veteran actor had been accused of hugging and kissing a woman on the cheek without her consent during a 2017 regional theatre tour.

In its judgment, the appellate court acknowledged that suspicion existed, noting that the unnamed woman had sought counselling for sexual violence after the alleged incident, coupled with Young-soo apologising at her request.

Nevertheless, the court also expressed concern that the victim’s memory might have become distorted over time.

The court stressed the need to protect the defendant’s interests when doubts remain.

Following the new verdict, the alleged victim insisted that the decision would not “invalidate the truth or erase the pain I have suffered.”

In a statement released through the women’s rights organisation Womenlink, she added: “Despite today’s ruling, I will continue to speak the truth to the very end.”

Womenlink strongly criticised the decision, saying they were “outraged by a ruling that once again silences sexual violence in the theatre world.”

After being initially convicted, Young-soo was sentenced to an eight-month prison term, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 40 hours of attendance at a sexual violence treatment programme.

The prosecution had sought a one-year jail term.

The actor previously claimed he had only held the woman’s hand to guide her around a lake.

He added: “I apologised because (the person) said she wouldn’t make a fuss about it but it doesn’t mean that I admit the charges.”

However, the previous judge, Jeong Yeon-ju, had found the victim’s records of the assault and her claims to be “consistent and appear to be statements that cannot be made without actually experiencing them.”

The judge had added: “What’s written in the victim’s diary, and the counselling report of the victim after the incident pretty much match the details of this case.”

Best known for his role as Oh Il-name in Netflix’s Squid Game, Young-soo won South Korea‘s first Golden Globe award in 2022 for his performance in the show, which sees poverty-hit contestants play childhood games with fatal consequences in a bid to win 45.6 billion won (about RM128.4 million).

© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd

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