Squid Game star O Yeong-Su has been acquitted of sexual misconduct charges by a court in South Korea.
The 81-year-old was charged in 2022 with sexually assaulting a woman twice. The allegations said that he hugged the woman and kissed her on the cheek against her will.
Mr. O was found guilty in 2024 and given an eight-month suspended prison sentence, but he appealed the verdict.
On Tuesday, a court overturned his sentence, stating he had undergone classes on sexual violence and suggesting that the alleged victim's memory may have been 'distorted,' considering the time elapsed since the incident.
The alleged assaults took place in 2017 during Mr. O's stay in a rural area for a theatre performance.
The victim filed a complaint in 2021, but the case was briefly closed before the prosecution reopened it at her request.
The Suwon District Court indicated there was 'doubt' about whether Mr. O committed the assault, noting that the victim's memory could have distorted over time, thus the defendant must be given the benefit of the doubt.
However, the court acknowledged the possibility that Mr. O may have committed the assault, as he had previously apologized to the victim.
In response to the ruling, the alleged victim expressed her determination to continue speaking the truth about her experience, emphasizing that the verdict does not erase the pain she has suffered.
Womenlink, an advocacy group, condemned the ruling as another instance of concealing sexual violence in the theatre world.
Mr. O expressed gratitude to the court following the ruling. He gained international fame for his role in the Netflix series Squid Game, which portrays extreme versions of children’s games for life or death. He also made history as the first South Korean actor to win a Golden Globe award for best supporting actor from the series.
