Prosecution Appeals O Yeong-su's Acquittal on Indecent Assault Charges in Second Trial... Case Heads to Supreme Court

[The Financial News] Actor O Yeong-su (81), who received a suspended prison sentence in the first trial for forcibly molesting a female trainee in 2017, was acquitted on appeal. The prosecution has decided to appeal this ruling.
According to legal sources on the 18th, the Prosecution Service filed an appeal on the 17th with the Suwon District Court Criminal Appellate Division 6 (Presiding Judges: Hyung-Seop Kwak, Kim Eun-jung, Kang Hee-kyung), citing misinterpretation of the law regarding the appellate verdict in O's indecent assault case.
O was indicted without detention in November 2022 on charges of forcibly hugging theater troupe member A on a walking trail and kissing her on the cheek in front of her residence during the summer of 2017 while staying in a provincial area for a play.
In March of last year, the first trial court found O guilty, stating that "the victim's testimony was consistent and could only be given by someone who had experienced the incident." The court sentenced him to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered him to complete 40 hours of a sexual violence treatment program.
However, on November 11, the appellate court, hearing appeals from both the defendant and the prosecution, reached the opposite conclusion. The court noted, "Given the passage of time, the victim's memory may have been distorted, and 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 stated, "Although the victim claimed the hug was stronger than usual, it is difficult to clearly compare the intensity of a polite hug to the one in question, so it is hard to conclude that the act constitutes indecent assault based solely on the strength of the hug."
Immediately after the appellate verdict, O Yeong-su told reporters, "I express my respect and gratitude to the court for its wise judgment."
However, the victim's legal representative criticized the ruling, stating, "This deplorable verdict by the judiciary only serves to reinforce the structural and hierarchical issues that enable sexual violence."
[email protected] Ahn Ga-eul Reporter