After being indicted on sexual misconduct charges last November, Squid Game star O Yeong-su appeared in court in South Korea for the first day of his sexual misconduct trial, The Hollywood Reporter reported on Tuesday.
“I am sorry,” the 78-year-old actor reportedly said to journalists present at the trial. “I think I behaved badly.”
Despite his apology, however, the Netflix star is denying the charges that were brought against him.
“O admitted his wrongdoing when the victim asked for an apology, but he has denied the charges during the investigation, failing to show any remorse for his act,” the victim’s attorney said in a statement ahead of the trial, per THR.
In April 2022, a woman accused Yeong-su of inappropriately touching her while the two were on a walk together in 2017; she said he tried to force her into a hug and plant a kiss on her cheek. The accuser’s case was previously closed without charges being filed, but was eventually reopened per her request.
The accuser has previously shared that she was 22 at the time of the alleged incident and a member of a theater company where Yeong-su was performing in a play.
When indicted, Yeong-su initially denied any wrongdoing. “I just held her hand to guide the way around the lake,” the Golden Globe winner told JTBC Korea. “I apologized because [the person] said she wouldn’t make a fuss about it but it doesn’t mean that I admit the charges.”
Squid Game has also recently been troubled by reports that participants in Squid Game: The Challenge, a spinoff reality show of the hit Netflix drama, has exposed its competitors to frigid temperatures during the course of filming, resulting in serious injuries.
“While it was very cold on set–and participants were prepared for that–any claims of serious injury are untrue,” Netflix said last month in a statement addressing the reports. “We care deeply about the health and safety of our cast and crew, and invested in all the appropriate safety procedures.”
