The South Korean actor O Yeong-su, who starred in the first season of the hit Netflix series Squid Game, was convicted on Friday on charges of sexual harassment and handed a suspended prison sentence, a court official said.
The Seongnam branch of the Suwon district court sentenced O to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, as well as 40 hours of attendance at a sexual violence treatment programme, the court official said by telephone.
The 79-year-old actor, who was charged with two counts of sexual harassment in 2017, had denied the accusations.
As he was leaving the court, O told reporters he planned to appeal against the decision. He has seven days to appeal or the ruling will be upheld.
He was accused of inappropriately touching a female actor, including hugging her, holding her hand and kissing her cheek. He had previously said he held the woman’s hand while guiding her around a lake. “I apologised because [the person] said she wouldn’t make a fuss about it but it doesn’t mean that I admit the charges,” he said.
O was indicted in 2022 and prosecutors had previously sought a sentence of one year in prison, according to media reports.
Womenlink, a women’s rights group in South Korea, welcomed the ruling and urged O to apologise to the victim.
“The defendant resembles other offenders of sexual violence in theatre in the past who tried to cover up their sexual violence as ‘favour’ and ‘friendship’,” the group said in a post on X.
O won best supporting actor in television at the Golden Globes for his role in Squid Game in 2022, becoming the first South Korean to snatch the award.
He played the elderly character Oh II-nam, one of the main antagonists of the first season.
The controversy over the accusations of sexual harassment saw him dropping out of an upcoming film in South Korea.
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Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html.
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