O Yeong-su, the actor playing one of Squid Game’s central characters, has been accused of sexual assault in South Korea, according to AFP and local media.

The actor, who was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe for his performance in the Netflix smash, was accused yesterday of having inappropriately touched a woman’s body five years earlier without being taken into jail. The information was verified by AFP and local news sources.

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According to a local media site, JTBC, O admitted that he had “held hands with the woman to show the way around a lake” and that, while he had apologised, this was not an admission of guilt. 

Who is O Yeong-su?

O Yeong-su, a South-Korean actor, was born on October 19, 1944, in Kaepung, a modern town on the border of North and South Korea. His father died in the Korean War, and his brother was taken prisoner by North Korea. 

He is married to banker Mo Kang and has a daughter. He completed his obligatory military service at the age of 23, then entered the acting world. There has been no going back since that time. In 1963, he made his stage acting debut. He made his cinematic debut with The Sea Village two years later. The First Republic, a 1981 Korean television programme, marked O Yeong-television su’s debut.

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Years later, he became known as the “monk actor” after playing a Buddhist monk in the 2003 film Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring. This role also helped him land multiple television ads.

Up until 2013, O Yeong-su participated in more than 200 stage performances and was the recipient of numerous theatre and film awards. In 2019, he was also awarded the South Korean Order of Cultural Merit (Hwagwan, 5th class). Oh was the oldest competitor in Netflix’s Squid Game and seemed to be a compassionate counterpoint in a sea of violent self-interest.

The South Korean actor’s performance earned him a Golden Globe Award for best-supporting actor in a series, miniseries, or television film, as well as a Primetime Emmy nomination for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series.