Actor Oh Yeong Su has been given a decision by the Supreme Court in relation to the charges of sexual assault against him.
On the 25th, the Supreme Court’s 3rd Division upheld the appellate court’s acquittal of Oh Yeong Su.
Oh Yeong Su was prosecuted for allegedly forcibly touching a junior female colleague, Ms. A, twice in 2017 while staying in Daegu for a theater performance—once hugging her on a walking trail in August, and once kissing her on the cheek in front of her residence in September.
Oh denied the charges, but the first trial court sentenced him to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered 40 hours of sexual violence treatment. The court at that time said, “The victim’s statements were consistent and credible, unlikely to be fabricated without experience,” and found him guilty.
Both the prosecution and Oh Yeong Su’s defense filed appeals challenging the verdict. In the subsequent appeal trial, the court overturned the original ruling and acquitted him.
The appellate court stated, “It is difficult to exclude the possibility that parts of the testimony were distorted over time, and when there is doubt whether the defendant committed the assault, the judgment must be made in favor of the defendant.”
Meanwhile, Oh Yeong Su gained attention in the Netflix original series Squid Game, released in 2021. In January 2022, he won the Best Supporting Actor award in the TV category at the 79th Golden Globe Awards in the United States.