O Yeong-Su (A Little Monk, God of War), best known for his work on the hit Netflix thriller series Squid Game, has been convicted of sexual misconduct. According to Deadline, the allegations come from an occurrence happening in 2017 in which Yeong-Su hugged and kissed a woman on the cheek without her consent.
Yeong-Su was one of the series’ top competitors, which led him to obtain a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of Oh Il-nam. Deadline notes that a report in Korea indicates that the Seongnam Branch of the Suwon District Court sentenced Yeong-Su to eight months in prison, suspended for two years.
As per our last story in 2022, the 79-year-old actor was charged over allegations that he hugged and kissed woman on the cheek in 2017, according to Yonhap, a Korean news agency. Yeong-Su has since denied the charges.
Following his Friday court appearance, he said to reporters that he would appeal the ruling. As part of his sentence, he was also ordered to complete a 40-hour sexual offender treatment program.
Deadline reports that the actor earlier stated that he was holding the woman’s hand to walk her around the lake. Yeong-Su said, “I apologized because [the person] said she wouldn’t make a fuss about it, but that doesn’t mean that I admit the charges.”
Deadline also notes that AFP, or Agence France-Presse, claimed the judge on the case, Jeong Yeon-ju, said the victim’s records of the misconduct and her claims were said to be “consistent… and appear to be statements that cannot be made without actually experiencing them.”
Additionally, the court said, “What’s written in the victim’s diary, and the counseling report of the victim after the incident pretty much match the details of this case.”
Despite having an acting career spanning over 50 years, Yeong-Su shot to fame with his portrayal in Squid Game. He has also been in Chocolate, a South Korean TV show, and has portrayed King Lear in the play of the same name.
According to Deadline, a women’s rights group from South Korea named Womenlink gave their opinion on his ruling with a post on X (formerly Twitter) reading, “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.'”