‘Squid Game’ star O Yeong-su denies sexual assault charges at trial
February 6, 2023
“Squid Game” star O Yeong-su has denied all sexual assault allegations against him in a South Korean court.
O, 78, denied sexually assaulting a woman in September 2017 during his first trial on Feb. 3 at the Seongnam branch of Suwon District Court in Gyeonggi.
The actor was indicted in November 2022 after the alleged victim filed a complaint against him in December 2021.
Although the case was closed in April last year, authorities reopened it after the alleged victim requested for the case to be investigated further.
The woman, whose identity and personal details have not been released, claims that O non-consensually groped and kissed her while they were on a walk.
According to her lawyer, O took advantage of his superior position when he was a member of a theater troupe to sexually harass another member more than once.
When my client confronted Mr. O and demanded an apology from him after the incident, he admitted his wrongs. However, now he is denying all charges and my client is thus suffering additional pain. Even now, she is engulfed in trauma as Mr. O fails to show any remorse for his crimes.
At the first hearing, O denied all the allegations against him and told local press that while “he did hold her hand,” he “did not sexually assault her.”
In a statement to the media, O’s legal counsel said they would like to request for the dismissal of the case as they claimed that no harassment was committed.
At the time, the defendant went for a walk with the plaintiff, and walked her home. However, there was no form of harassment involved. The defendant would thus like to request for the dismissal of this random case, as well as the dismissal of the prosecution’s indictment charge.
The second private hearing, which will see testimony from witnesses on both sides, will take place on April 14.
O, who starred in Netflix’s survival drama “Squid Game” as Oh Il-nam, or Player 001, won Best Supporting Actor in Television at the 2022 Golden Globe Awards in January. He made history by becoming the first Korean actor to take home a Golden Globe Award.
The South Korean actor was born in 1944 and debuted as an actor in 1963. He is known as one of the country’s most prolific stage actors, having appeared in more than 200 theater productions.
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