Oh Youngsoo's Indecent Assault Acquittal Heads to Supreme Court as Prosecution Appeals

Actor Oh Youngsoo is attending the first trial sentencing hearing held on the afternoon of March 15 last year at the Suwon District Court Seongnam Branch in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Yonhap News

The prosecution has appealed the appellate court's acquittal of actor Oh Youngsoo (81), who had previously been found guilty in the first trial on charges of indecent assault.

According to the legal community on November 18, the prosecution filed an appeal on November 17 with the Suwon District Court Criminal Appellate Division 6 (Presiding Judges: Kwak Hyungseop, Kim Eunjeong, and Kang Heekyung), which had delivered the appellate verdict on Oh's indecent assault case, citing misinterpretation of the law and other reasons.

Oh was indicted without detention in November 2022 on charges of forcibly hugging theater troupe member A on a walking trail and kissing A on the cheek in front of A's residence during the summer of 2017 while staying in a provincial area for a theater performance. These incidents allegedly occurred on two separate occasions.

In the first trial, the court found Oh guilty in March last year, stating that "the victim's claims are consistent and contain details that could not be fabricated without direct experience." Oh was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 40 hours of a sexual violence treatment program.

However, the appellate court, which heard the case after both the defendant and the prosecution appealed, delivered a completely opposite verdict on November 11. The court stated, "Given the passage of time, it is possible that the victim's memory has been distorted. If there is doubt as to whether the defendant committed indecent assault as described in the indictment, the benefit of the doubt must go to the defendant."

The appellate court also ruled, "The victim claimed that the embrace was stronger than usual, but it is not clearly comparable to the intensity of a customary hug between colleagues. Therefore, it is difficult to conclude that the intensity of the hug alone constitutes indecent assault."

Immediately after the appellate verdict, Oh expressed his gratitude to the court, stating to reporters, "I pay my respects and express my gratitude to the judges for their wise decision."

The victim's legal representative criticized the ruling, saying, "This deplorable verdict by the judiciary is a shameful decision that serves to reinforce the structures that enable sexual violence and hierarchical abuse."