‘Squid Game’ star sexual misconduct goes viral

South Korea’s “Squid Game” actor O Yeong-su has been found guilty of sexual misconduct, a local court announced on Friday, following charges of assaulting a woman in 2017.

In 2022, at the age of 79, O became the first South Korean to win a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a series for his portrayal of a seemingly vulnerable old man in the widely acclaimed Netflix dystopian thriller.

The court sentenced the actor to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, as confirmed by the Seongnam Branch of the Suwon District Court to AFP. Additionally, O has been ordered to complete 40 hours of classes on sexual violence, according to the court.

Judge Jeong Yeon-ju stated that the victim’s records of the assault and her claims were consistent and appeared to reflect experiences that could not be fabricated, as reported by the court.

O was indicted in 2022 without detention on charges of sexually assaulting a woman, who remains unidentified, on two occasions. The incidents occurred while 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 portraying a dark world where marginalized individuals are compelled to compete in deadly versions of traditional children’s games, garnered immense popularity on Netflix within less than four weeks of its release in 2021, amassing 111 million viewers.

The success of the show has further elevated South Korea’s burgeoning influence on global popular culture, following the global fame achieved by entities such as the K-pop band BTS and the Oscar-winning film “Parasite.”

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