Ogem Oh Young-soo overturns the first trial ruling on forced harassment
Nov 11, 2025
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The Suwon District Court's Criminal Appeals Department 6 (Chief Judge Kwak Hyung-seop, Kim Eun-jung and Kang Hee-kyung) reversed the original ruling on the 11th, which sentenced Oh Young-soo to August in prison and two years of probation. "Considering that the victim informed a few close colleagues after consulting at the sexual violence counseling center about six months after the forced harassment occurred, and that the defendant apologized to the victim's message asking the defendant for an apology, it is doubtful that the defendant was forced to harass like the prosecution," the court said. "However, if there is a possibility that the victim's memory may have been distorted over time and is in doubt whether the defendant was forced to harass, as stated in the prosecution facts, it should be in the interests of the defendant.", he explained.
Looking at the process of the defendant's apology to the victim, I can somewhat accept the apology before considering the message sent by the victim at a time when 'Squid Game' appeared at the time was gaining popularity around the world. Considering that the damage to the work is inevitable just because sex crimes are known, and it takes a considerable amount of time to correct the facts, sending an apology message is not unusual.
The victim's claim that he hugged more forcefully than usual even though he thought it was a hug as a colleague is not clearly seen how different from the hugging intensity, so it is difficult to say that the crime of forced harassment is established only by the intensity of the hug. Regarding the prosecution that the defendant kissed the cheek in front of the victim's residence, he explained, "No investigation has been conducted to prove the credibility of the victim's statement."
After the trial, Oh Young-soo said, `I respect and thank the court for making a wise decision,' and the victim pointed out through his legal representative that `the deplorable ruling made by the judiciary is a shameful sentence that helps to solidify the structure and hierarchy of sexual violence.' Then "An innocent judgment can never neutralize the truth or erase the pain I have suffered. The judiciary asked us to reflect responsibly on what message this ruling sends to society."
Oh Young-soo has continued his trial on two counts of forced harassment, hugging a theater member A on a walking trail and kissing him on the cheek in front of A's residence when he was staying in the province for a theater performance in the summer of 2017.
lunamoon@sportschosun.com
