Squid Game star Oh Yeong-Su has been found guilty of sexual misconduct.
A district court judge in South Korea ruled on Friday, March 16, that Yeong-su, 79, is guilty of inappropriately touching an actress in 2017, including hugging her, holding her hand and kissing her cheek. According to The New York Times, Yeong-Su will serve an eight-month suspended sentence and take 40 hours of sexual violence classes.
Yeong-Su told prosecutors on Friday that he plans to appeal the verdict after previously denying the charges. He was initially charged in November 2022 after an actress filed a complaint claiming Yeong-Su inappropriately touched her. The woman originally filed the complaint in late 2021, but Yeong-Su denied the accusations and police closed the case without any charges filed. The prosecution reopened the case at the victim’s request.
The judge who presided over the case said the woman received sexual violence counseling in 2018, but it was Yeong-Su’s international fame from Netflix’s Squid Game three years later that inspired her to demand an apology from Yeong-Su.
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Yeong-su issued a statement at the time to Korean broadcaster JTBC, which read, “I just held her hand to guide the way around the lake. I apologized because [the person] said she wouldn’t make a fuss about it but it doesn’t mean that I admit the charges.”
The actor rose to fame in 2021 as Player No. 001 on the first season of Squid Game. Yeong-su made history in January 2022 as the first Korean actor to win at the Golden Globes when he took home the trophy for best supporting actor in a series, miniseries or television film.
Netflix has since renewed Squid Game for a second season, which Yeong-su is not involved in.
The South Korean drama follows 465 strangers — all suffering crushing debt — as they’re recruited and brought to a remote island to compete in a series of children’s games for a chance to win $38 million. The catch, however, is that the losers aren’t just eliminated, they’re killed on the spot.
Show creator Hwang Dong-hyuk previously told Vanity Fair in May 2022 what fans can expect from the next season.
“Humanity is going to be put to a test through those games once again,” he explained. “However, the way those games are played could be different. If they were capable of talking with one another, of cooperating with one another, I do agree that there could have been a possibility that we could have seen more winners. I want to ask the question, ‘Is true solidarity between humans possible?’”
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During an interview with Netflix, Dong-hyuk said there was “a lot of pressure” to make the second season better, adding, “I know that a lot of the different fans and audiences have enjoyed the series very much, but really we’re focusing on how to make it even more joyful to the global audience.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
