2 weeks Ago By [email protected](KoreaTimes)
Actor O Yeong-su / Courtesy of Netflix By KTimes "Squid Game" actor O Yeong-su, accused of sexual harassment, has argued that the sentence handed down in the first trial is overly severe. The Suwon District Court's criminal division held the first appellate hearing for O, who has been charged with sexual misconduct. During the hearing, O's legal representative said in a response submitted to the court that "the defendant has faced multiple removals from film projects and has also endured public judgment due to this case.
" The representative also argued that "the defendant is a first-time offender, and the degree of the indecent assault was not severe." O gained significant domestic and international popularity for his role as the "Gganbu Grandfather" in the Netflix series "Squid Game." Notably, he became the first Korean actor to win a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a TV Series in January 2022.
However, in Nov. 2022, he was indicted without detention for allegedly sexually harassing a female junior colleague identified only as A, who was part of his theater troupe. The allegations state that in August 2017, while staying in a provincial region for two months for a theater performance, O embraced A on a hiking trail and, in September, kissed her on the cheek outside her residence.
O denied the allegations, but a lower court sentenced him to eight months in prison, suspended for two years. Both the prosecution and O have appealed the decision. The next court date is scheduled for Oct.
29. This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times..
