A South Korean court docket on Friday discovered Oh Younger-soo, an actor who gained a Golden Globe for his portrayal of a contestant within the Netflix survival drama “Squid Sport,” responsible of indecent assault.
Mr. Oh, 79, was given an eight-month suspended sentence and ordered to attend 40 hours of lessons on sexual violence. The decision and sentencing have been introduced on Friday at a district court docket in Seongnam, a metropolis southeast of Seoul.
Most of the hearings within the case had been closed to the general public. Mr. Oh had publicly denied the cost.
Prosecutors charged Mr. Oh in 2022 after an actress filed a criticism accusing him of inappropriately touching her whereas the 2 have been on tour for a play in 2017. She was not recognized.
The cost carried a possible jail sentence of as much as 10 years or a high quality of as much as 15 million South Korean gained, or about $11,400. However prosecutors mentioned final month that they might search a one-year sentence and an employment ban if he have been to be convicted.
A couple of months earlier than he was charged, Mr. Oh turned the primary South Korean to win a Golden Globe, for finest supporting actor for his position as Participant No. 001 in “Squid Sport,” a dystopian drama about individuals who danger their lives in a secretive contest in hopes of profitable a fortune. He was additionally nominated for a 2022 Emmy for his efficiency on the present, nonetheless probably the most watched sequence ever on Netflix.
Mr. Oh, who has appeared in additional than 200 performs since 1968 and gained quite a few theater awards, is taken into account considered one of South Korea’s most completed stage actors.
The sexual misconduct cost damage his profession properly earlier than the court docket rendered a verdict. Mr. Oh was not included within the solid for Season 2 of “Squid Sport,” scheduled for release this year. The nation’s Tradition Ministry has additionally stopped airing a authorities business that options him.
Mr. Oh may also won’t seem in an upcoming movie referred to as “About Household” by the South Korean director Woo-seok Yang. The movie’s distribution firm, Lotte Leisure, advised the native information media final month that it was deleting all of his scenes and refilming them with one other actor, Lee Quickly-jae.
Final yr, Mr. Oh was dropped from the solid of a South Korean play, “Love Letter,” a few pair of actors who take turns studying love letters to one another.
Mr. Oh’s accuser filed a criticism towards him in 2021, prompting a police investigation in Seongnam. Prosecutors finally dropped the case, however the lady appealed to reopen it, and Mr. Oh was later charged after extra proof was gathered.
In November 2022, Mr. Oh advised JTBC, a South Korean broadcaster that first reported the charge, that he had solely held the accuser’s hand to information her manner throughout a stroll round a lake. He additionally mentioned that he had apologized to her, not as an admission of wrongdoing however as a result of she had mentioned she wouldn’t make a problem of his conduct if he did so.
“I’m sorry,” he told reporters whereas strolling into his first court docket listening to in February 2023. “I believe I behaved badly.”
However he continued to disclaim the cost.
Different particulars of the case haven’t been made public. The hearings have been closed and the lady has not been recognized, in step with normal apply for intercourse crimes instances in South Korea.
Folks convicted of indecent assault in South Korea turn out to be registered intercourse offenders who’re monitored by the police even after finishing their jail phrases. First-time offenders can obtain decreased sentences, or just a high quality.
Since 2018, South Korea’s #MeToo motion has led to accusations of sexual misconduct towards an array of outstanding males, together with highly effective figures within the leisure trade and authorities. Some have apologized or resigned. Others have been convicted of rape or different intercourse crimes and sentenced to lengthy jail phrases.
This can be a growing story.