Squid Game actor Oh Young-soo convicted of sexual misconduct

Oh Young-soo, the Emmy-nominated and Golden Globe-winning actor from Netflix’s Squid Game, has been convicted of sexual misconduct in South Korean court. According to The New York Times, Oh was given “an eight-month suspended sentence and ordered to attend 40 hours of classes on sexual violence.” The 79-year-old reportedly told press outside the courtroom on Friday that he plans to appeal the ruling.

A complaint against Oh from an anonymous female actor, with whom he worked on a play in 2017, was originally filed in 2021. The case was dropped, but the woman appealed to have it reopened, and he was charged with indecent assault in 2022. Though the case was sealed to the public, Deadline reports that he allegedly “hugged a woman and kissed her on the cheek.” Speaking to reporters in February 2023, Oh said he thought he “behaved badly” (via the NYT), however, he has denied the charges and claimed he only held the woman’s hand to guide her around a lake. Per Deadline, the judge stated that the accuser’s claims were “consistent … and appear to be statements that cannot be made without actually experiencing them.” Further, “What’s written in the victim’s diary, and the counseling report of the victim after the incident pretty much match the details of this case.”

While Oh first broke through in the U.S. playing the contestant Oh Il-nam in Squid Game, he is an acclaimed actor and stage veteran, appearing in more than 200 in his native South Korea (per the NYT). In the wake of charges being filed against him, Oh was dropped from the play Love Letter and South Korea’s Culture Ministry ceased playing commercials in which he was featured. His scenes have reportedly been deleted from Woo-seok Yang’s new movie About Family, and the film will replace him with another actor. He will not be returning for the upcoming second season of Squid Game.