Squid Game star O Yeong-Su has been acquitted of sexual misconduct charges by a court in South Korea.
The 81-year-old was charged in 2022 with sexually assaulting a woman twice. The allegations said that he hugged the woman and kissed her on the cheek against her will.
Mr O was found guilty in 2024 and given an eight-month suspended prison sentence, but said he would appeal against the verdict.
On Tuesday, a court overturned his sentence, saying he had undergone classes on sexual violence and suggesting that the alleged victim’s memory may have been “distorted”, considering how long ago the incident occurred.
The alleged assaults took place in 2017 when Mr O was staying in a rural area for a theatre performance.
The alleged victim filed a complaint against Mr O in 2021, but the case was closed in April the same year. The prosecution later reopened the investigation “at the request of the victim”, according to Yonhap agency.
In a statement reported by local media outlets, the Suwon District Court said there was “doubt” as to whether Mr O had committed the assault.
“There is a possibility that the victim’s memory has been distorted over time, and when there is doubt… the defendant must be given the benefit of the doubt”.
However, the statement also went on to say that it was possible Mr O had committed assault, as he had apologised to the victim.
The alleged victim later spoke out against the verdict, saying it would not “invalidate the truth or erase the pain I have suffered”.
“Despite today’s ruling, I will continue to speak the truth to the very end,” she said in a statement released through women’s rights organisation Womenlink.
Womenlink also criticised the ruling, saying they were “outraged by a ruling that once again conceals sexual violence in the theatre world”.
It is not yet clear if the prosecution will appeal.
Speaking to local media outlets after the court ruling, Mr O said he had “gratitude to the court for its wise judgement”.
Mr O rose to international fame after starring in Squid Game, a dystopian drama which sees people competing in deadly versions of traditional children’s games.
In 2022, he became the first South Korean actor to win a Golden Globe award for best supporting actor in a series, after his performance in the first season of the chart-topping Netflix thriller.
