South Korea's Squid Game actor O Yeong-su has been found guilty of sexual misconduct, a local court said Friday, after he was charged with assaulting an actress in 2017.
The actor was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years. He has been also ordered to attend 40 hours of classes on sexual violence.
“I am sorry,” he told reporters while walking into his first court hearing in February 2023. “I think I behaved badly.”
Nevertheless, he continued to deny the indecent assault charge, which carried a potential prison sentence of up to 10 years.
Prosecutors charged O in 2022 after the woman, who was not identified, filed a complaint accusing him of inappropriately touching her.
According to AFP, judge Jeong Yeon-ju said the victim's records of the assault and her claims were "consistent ... and appear to be statements that cannot be made without actually experiencing them".
O told reporters after the verdict that he planned to appeal.
The 79-year-old is considered one of South Korea’s most accomplished stage actors and became the first South Korean performer to win a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a series for his performance as Oh Il-nam - or: Player No. 001 - in the hit Netflix dystopian thriller about people who risk their lives in a secretive contest in hopes of winning a fortune.
Feminist organisation Womenlink spoke to reporters shortly after the sentencing and said: "Now we can say that the sexual violence in the theatre is not an old custom but sexual violence. The accused must stop trying to make his assault go away, apologise to the victim and accept his mistake."
