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Actor O (in “Squid Game”): Sentenced to 40 hours of teaching

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Noh Juhan / Netflix

The South Korean actor O Yeong-su, internationally known from the Netflix series “Squid Game,” was found guilty by a court on Friday on allegations of sexual harassment.

O received a suspended prison sentence, a court spokesman confirmed to Reuters.

The New York Times had previously reported.

The verdict was handed down by the Suwon District Court at its location in Seongnam, a suburb of the metropolis southeast of Seoul.

Accordingly, O was sentenced to eight months in prison, with a probation period of two years.

The actor must also participate in a sexual violence treatment program for 40 hours.

The 79-year-old, who was accused of two incidents in 2017, denied the allegations.

As he left the courthouse, he told reporters he planned to appeal.

He would have to file a corresponding objection against the verdict within the next seven days, otherwise it will be legally binding.

“Sexualized violence disguised as ‘favor’ and ‘friendship’”

O was charged in 2022.

Media reports said that he had “inappropriately touched” a fellow actress on a theater tour together.

The public prosecutor had demanded a prison sentence of one year.

Womenlink, a Korean women's rights organization, welcomed the verdict and called on O to apologize to the victim.

»The defendant is similar to former sexually violent perpetrators in the theater environment.

“They tried to cloak their sexualized violence with ‘favor’ and ‘friendship,’” the group wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

O Yeong-su was honored in the “Best Supporting Actor” category in television at the 2022 Golden Globes – the first South Korean ever to do so.

In “Squid Game” he played the older character Oh II-nam, one of the protagonists of the controversial series.

He was also nominated for an Emmy Award.

The sexual assault accusation has already damaged his career.

According to reports, the South Korean Ministry of Culture decided to stop the broadcast of a government commercial in which the actor appeared due to the allegations against O.

In the film "About Family" by South Korean director Woo-seok Yang, all scenes with O were cut out and re-shot with a different actor.

He also lost his role in the play “Love Letters,” in which the actors read love letters to each other.

O Yeong-su is not included in the second season of “Squid Game,” which is expected on Netflix later this year.

Feb/Reuters