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Veteran actor O Yeong-su of 'Squid Game' fame acquitted of 'indecent assault' on appeals

Published: 11 Nov. 2025, 17:54

Veteran actor O Yeong-su attends a hearing at the Suwon District Court in Suwon, Gyeonggi on March 15, 2024. [NEWS1]

Veteran actor O Yeong-su, best known for his role in Netflix’s “Squid Game” (2021-), was acquitted Tuesday of indecent assault after a higher court overturned his earlier conviction.

The Suwon District Court found O not guilty, reversing a lower court’s ruling that had sentenced him to eight months in prison with a two-year suspension.

Indecent assault is defined as committing an "indecent" act on another through violence or intimidation.

“The victim reluctantly agreed to the defendant’s proposal ‘for a hug,’ and the act was carried out,” the appellate court said. “The intensity of the hug and the specific nature of the act are not clearly established, making it difficult to conclude that indecent assault occurred based on that alone.”

“While the victim may have felt discomfort toward the defendant, we cannot rule out the possibility of emotional shifts or distorted recollection,” the court added. “When reasonable doubt remains, the judgment must be made in favor of the defendant.”

O was indicted without detention in November 2022 for allegedly hugging a junior female theater troupe member while staying outside Seoul in August 2017 for a play and for kissing her on the cheek in front of her residence the following month.

The first trial court found the victim’s testimony credible, sentencing O to eight months in prison with a two-year suspended sentence and ordering him to complete 40 hours of a sexual violence treatment program. Prosecutors had sought a one-year prison term in both the first and appeal trials, but the appellate court rejected the request.

Actor O Yeong-su is seen in a still from the hit Netflix series "Squid Game" (2021-) in this photo provided by Netflix [NETFLIX]

Throughout the proceedings, O denied the charges, saying, “If my words or actions were inappropriate at the time, I will take responsibility, but I did nothing that could be considered indecent.”

In his final statement, he said, “My 80 years of life crumbled in an instant. Please allow me to return to my rightful place.”

Around 20 members of civic organizations were present in court for the appellate ruling.

In a statement issued through legal counsel, the victim called the ruling “a shameful decision that reinforces the systemic structure of sexual violence and hierarchical abuse,” adding, “The not-guilty verdict cannot erase the truth or the pain I endured. The judiciary must seriously reflect on what message this ruling sends to society.”

O gained international fame in 2021 for his role as Oh Il-nam, the “Kkanbu Grandpa,” in “Squid Game,” becoming the first Korean actor to win a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series. Following his indictment, he was edited out of the film “Big Family” and banned from appearing on KBS broadcasts.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BAE JAE-SUNG [[email protected]]