‘Squid Game’ Star Oh Young-soo Convicted of Indecent Assault in South Korea
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Squid Game star and Golden Globe winner Oh Young-soo was convicted of indecent assault in South Korea after an actress accused him of inappropriately touching and kissing her, The New York Times reports.
The 79-year-old was handed an eight-month suspended sentence and will have to attend 40 hours of classes on sexual violence. Oh has denied the allegation and said he will appeal.
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Oh was charged with indecent assault in 2022 after an unidentified actress filed a misconduct complaint against him the previous year. She alleged several incidents that occurred in August and September 2017, with the judge ultimately ruling that Oh inappropriately hugged her, kissed her, held her hand, and made sexual comments to her.
Oh did reportedly apologize to the woman and even told reporters before his first court hearing last month: “I am sorry. I think I behaved badly.” However, he’s maintained that these apologies are not an admission of guilt; he’s denied kissing the woman and claimed that when he held her hand, it was to help her carry something.
During the trial, Oh’s lawyers tried to claim the actress’ stories were inconsistent, but the judge noted that she discussed the incidents with others at the time and detailed them in her diary. The actress received counseling for sexual violence in 2018 and tried to put the incident behind her, but decided to bring the complaint and demand an apology from Oh following the success of Squid Game.
Before gaining international attention for Squid Game, Oh enjoyed decades of success as an actor in South Korea, earning particular renown for his theatrical work. But the indecent assault charge has appeared to hurt his career: The Culture Ministry stopped airing an ad with him in it, his scenes have been removed from an upcoming movie, and he was dropped from the cast of a stage play last year. Oh will also not appear in the upcoming second season of Squid Game.
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