South Korean actor O Yeong-su was convicted on Friday on charges of sexual harassment.
Reuters reported the 79-year- old actor was also given suspended prison sentence, a court official said.
Yeong-su starred in the first season of the Netflix series “Squid Game.”
The Seongnam branch of the Suwon District Court sentenced him to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered to attend 40 hours sexual violence treatment program, the court official said by telephone, per Reuters.
He was charged with two counts of sexual harassment in 2017 and denied the accusations. He plans on appealing the decision.
Yeong-su was indicted in 2022. Prosecutors previously sought a one-year sentence, according to media reports.
Womenlink, a women’s rights group in South Korea, welcomed now wants Yeong-su to apologize to the victim.
“The defendant resembles other offenders of sexual violence in theatre in the past who tried to cover up their sexual violence as ‘favour’ and ‘friendship’,” the group said in a post on X.
He won best supporting actor in television at the Golden Globes for his role in “Squid Game” in 2022 and was the first South Korean to win the award, per Reuters.
