An appeals court is set to deliver its verdict this afternoon in the groping case against Oh Yeong-su, 81, best known for Netflix’s "Squid Game".
The Suwon District Court’s Criminal Division 6-1 will announce the decision today. The appeal began in April last year and is nearing its conclusion after roughly a year.
A previously scheduled July ruling was postponed as the panel reopened arguments, examined witnesses, and then closed proceedings on Sept. 9. Today’s verdict follows that review.
Prosecutors charged Oh over an incident from 2017, when he was in Daegu for a stage production and allegedly made inappropriate physical contact with a junior troupe member identified as A. The accuser filed a police complaint in 2021; police initially declined to forward the case, but after an appeal, prosecutors reopened the probe and indicted him without detention in 2022.
At trial, the court found the accuser’s testimony credible and sentenced Oh to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered him to complete 40 hours of a sexual-violence treatment program. Oh appealed, arguing there was no groping and that an apology text had been misunderstood. Prosecutors also appealed, calling the sentence too lenient.
On appeal, his side argued that during the intense spotlight of Netflix’s "Squid Game", he offered a perfunctory apology in response to a sudden request from the accuser’s side―and that the lower court misread that message.
In his final statement, Oh told the court, “I’m ashamed to be standing here at my age. If my words or actions were wrong, I’ll accept the consequences,” while adding, “I did not view my conduct at the time as groping.”
Oh broke out globally in 2021 as Oh Il-nam (Player 001) on Netflix’s "Squid Game", and in 2022 became the first Korean actor to win a Golden Globe, taking best supporting actor in a TV category. After the allegations surfaced, his activities halted and his scenes were reportedly removed from his next project, “About Family.”
Photo: Baik Seung-Chul
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)