Award-winning Squid Game actor, 81, acquitted of sexual misconduct

SEOUL – A South Korean court on Nov 11 overturned the

indecent assault conviction of actor Oh Young-soo,

who won a Golden Globe for his role in the Netflix survival drama Squid Game (2021 to 2025).

A panel of judges in Suwon, a city south of Seoul, found that the evidence prosecutors had presented was not sufficient to prove he was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Prosecutors have a week to appeal and bring the case to the country’s Supreme Court, which would have the final word.

Oh, 81, appealed a judge’s March 2024 verdict that he was guilty of indecent assault. He received an eight-month suspended sentence with two years of probation and was ordered to receive education on sexual violence.

The charges against Oh came in the wake of South Korea’s #MeToo movement, one of the most powerful in Asia. Since it gained traction in 2018, accusations of sexual misconduct have been levied against prominent men, including powerful figures in the entertainment industry and government.

Some have apologised or resigned. Others have been convicted of rape or other sex crimes and sentenced to long prison terms.

Oh was convicted in 2024 of inappropriately hugging an actress, holding her hand and kissing her cheek in 2017. His accuser’s report to police was filed in 2021, prompting a police investigation.

Prosecutors initially dropped the case, but the woman appealed to reopen it.

Prosecutors charged Oh in 2022 after more evidence was gathered. They sought a one-year prison sentence and an employment ban if Oh were to be convicted. He has denied the charge.

Months before he was charged, Oh became the first South Korean to win a Golden Globe Award, for best supporting actor for his role as Oh Il-nam, or Player 001, in Squid Game, a dystopian drama about financially desperate people who compete in a series of deadly games for a large cash prize.

He was also nominated for an Emmy in 2022 for his performance on the show, which is still the most watched on Netflix.

After he was accused of sexual misconduct, Oh disappeared from public view. He was not part of the cast for Seasons 2 and 3 of Squid Game. He was dropped from a movie and a play in which he had been scheduled to appear, and from commercials that were going to feature him.

On Tuesday, Oh thanked the court for its “wise judgment” when he spoke to reporters on his way out of the courthouse. Activists from women’s rights groups criticised the ruling, saying that it silenced victims of sexual violence.

Other details of the case have not been made public. The hearings have been largely closed to the public, and Oh’s accuser has not been identified, consistent with South Korea’s standard practice for sex crime cases. NYTIMES