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Squid Game star found guilty of sexual misconduct

Squid Game star found guilty of sexual misconduct

Actor O Yeong-su has been convicted of sexual misconduct after he was charged with assaulting a woman in 2017.
16 Mar, 2024

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 a woman in 2017.

The 79-year-old in 2022 became the first South Korean to win a Golden Globe Award for best supporting actor in a series for his performance as a seemingly vulnerable old man in the mega-hit Netflix dystopian thriller.

The actor was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, the Seongnam Branch of the Suwon District Court told AFP. He has been also ordered to complete 40 hours of classes on sexual violence, the court added.

The victim’s own records of the assault and her claims are “consistent … and appear to be statements that cannot be made without actually experiencing them,” judge Jeong Yeon-ju said, according to the court. O was indicted in 2022 without detention on charges of sexually assaulting a woman, who has not been identified, on two occasions.

The incidents took place when O was staying in a rural area for a theatre performance in 2017, on a walking path and in front of the victim’s residence, respectively, according to the Suwon District Court.

Squid Game, a series that depicts a dark world where marginalised individuals are forced to compete in deadly versions of traditional children’s games, quickly gained immense popularity on Netflix. Within less than four weeks of its release in 2021, it attracted a staggering 111 million viewers.

The show’s success has amplified South Korea’s increasingly outsized influence on global popular culture, following global fame won by the likes of K-pop band BTS and the Oscar-winning film Parasite.

Multiple figures in South Korea’s film industry — including late filmmaker Kim Ki-duk and actor Cho Jae-hyun — have faced sexual assault allegations.

Comments

Dr. Salaria, Aamir Ahmad Mar 16, 2024 12:53pm
Old and bad habits die hard, no matter who you are.
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Syed Hasni Mar 16, 2024 02:22pm
Our lives begin to end, the day we become silent about things that matters- Martin Luther King Jr
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