South Korea’s renowned “Squid Game” actor, O Yeong-su, has been convicted of sexual misconduct, the Seongnam Branch of the Suwon District Court announced on Friday.
The verdict comes after O was charged with assaulting a woman in 2017.
O Yeong-su, aged 79, made headlines in 2022 as the first South Korean to win a Golden Globe Award for best supporting actor in a series, owing to his remarkable portrayal of a seemingly vulnerable elderly man in the Netflix mega-hit dystopian thriller, “Squid Game.”
The court sentenced the actor to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, and mandated him to complete 40 hours of classes on sexual violence.
Judge Jeong Yeon-ju remarked that the victim’s consistent accounts of the assault appeared credible and reflected experiences that could not be fabricated.
O Yeong-su was indicted in 2022 without detention on charges of sexually assaulting a woman on two occasions during his stay in a rural area for a theatre performance in 2017.
The assaults reportedly occurred on a walking path and in front of the victim’s residence.
“Squid Game” garnered immense popularity on Netflix, depicting a dark world where marginalized individuals are compelled to participate in deadly versions of traditional children’s games.
Within less than four weeks of its release in 2021, the series attracted a staggering 111 million viewers, underscoring South Korea’s burgeoning influence on global popular culture, following global fame won by the likes of K-pop band BTS and the Oscar-winning film “Parasite”.
However, O Yeong-su’s conviction underscores the prevalence of sexual misconduct allegations in South Korea’s entertainment industry, with previous accusations implicating figures like the late filmmaker Kim Ki-duk and actor Cho Jae-hyun.
