Actor Oh Young Soo, widely known as the “Kkanbu grandfather” from Netflix’s hit series “Squid Game”, has received a final not guilty ruling from South Korea’s Supreme Court in his forcible molestation case.
According to the legal community, the Supreme Court confirmed the appeals court’s not guilty verdict by dismissing the prosecution’s appeal. The ruling comes about three years after Oh Young Soo was indicted over allegations involving a female theater member from 2017.
Oh Young Soo was accused of hugging the woman on a walking path and kissing her on the cheek in front of her residence while staying outside Seoul for a theater performance. He was indicted without detention in November 2022.
In the first trial, Oh Young Soo was sentenced to 8 months in prison, suspended for 2 years. However, the appeals court later overturned the ruling and found him not guilty.
The appeals court said there were parts of the case that raised suspicion, but explained that under the law, “when there is doubt, it must be judged in favor of the defendant.” The court also said there was a “possibility that the victim’s memory may have changed over time.”
Regarding the alleged hug, the court said it was difficult to prove the charge based only on how strong the hug was. On the allegation that he kissed the woman on the cheek, the court said there was not enough investigation to prove the reliability of the statement.
The victim’s side criticized the appeals court decision at the time, calling it a “regrettable ruling” and saying it was a “shameful judgment.” However, with the Supreme Court’s latest decision, the not guilty verdict is now final.
Oh Young Soo rose to global fame after playing Oh Il Nam in “Squid Game”. In 2022, he became the first Korean actor to win Best Supporting Actor in the TV category at the Golden Globe Awards.
After the indictment became public, Oh Young Soo faced major career effects. He was edited out of the film “About Family” even after filming had been completed, and he was also restricted from appearing on major broadcasters, including KBS.
Now that the Supreme Court has confirmed his not guilty ruling, attention is turning to whether those broadcast appearance restrictions will be lifted.
