‘Squid Game’ actor, Young-Soo convicted of sexual misconduct

Korean actor, Oh Young-soo, known for his role in the hit Netflix series “Squid Game,” was found guilty of sexual misconduct by a South Korean court on Friday.

The 79-year-old actor received an eight-month suspended sentence and was ordered to attend mandatory sexual violence treatment classes, New York Times report.

According to the report, Young-soo, who won a Golden Globe Award in 2022 for his role as Player No. 001 in ‘Squid Game’, had publicly denied the charges and told reporters after the verdict that he planned to appeal the decision.

A district court judge, Jeong Yeon-ju, in Seongnam, a city southeast of Seoul, was said to have found Young-soo guilty of inappropriately hugging an actress, holding her hand and kissing her cheek in 2017, after which prosecutors charged him in 2022 after the actress filed a complaint accusing him of inappropriately touching her.

The report further disclosed that Judge Jeong Yeon-ju said across multiple occasions in August and September 2017, Young-soo had hugged the woman, held her hand, kissed her cheek and laid in her rented room, where he made potentially inappropriate sexual comments.

The judge added that she received sexual violence counseling in March 2018 and tried to forget her distressful memories for some time, until the success of “Squid Game” in 2021 prompted the woman to demand an apology from Young-soo about his actions, for which he apologised.

“Mr. Oh denied kissing the woman, claimed that he had held her hand to help her carry things, and said that his apology to her was not an admission of guilt”, the judge said.

Young-soo’s lawyers argued that the woman’s narrative was inconsistent. But the judge found her accusations credible.

NYT also reports that the sexual misconduct charge hurt his career well before the court rendered a verdict as Young-soo was not included in the cast for Season 2 of “Squid Game,” scheduled for release this year.