The legal team of actor Oh Young Soo, who is on trial for forcibly molesting a woman twice, argued during the first appeal hearing that the sentence from the initial trial was excessively severe.

On August 29th, during the appeal hearing at the Suwon District Court’s Criminal Appeals Division 6-1 (presiding judges Shin Woo Jung, Yoo Jae Kwang, Kim Eun Jung), Oh Young Soo’s lawyer submitted a statement to the court, arguing that “the defendant has faced social judgment, including being removed from several films as a result of this case,” asserting that the initial sentence was too harsh.

When Oh Young Soo’s lawyer stated that they had not yet decided whether to call the victim as a witness, the court responded, “We will proceed with witness examinations during the next session and then decide whether to summon the victim as a witness.” The victim’s lawyer also attended the hearing.

Oh Young Soo was indicted without detention in November 2022 on charges of forcibly molesting a woman twice, including hugging her on a walking path and kissing her on the cheek in front of her residence during the summer of 2017 while staying in a rural area for a theater performance. In March this year, the first trial found him guilty and sentenced him to eight months in prison, suspended for two years.

The prosecution, which had initially requested a one-year prison sentence, appealed the decision on the grounds of leniency in sentencing. Meanwhile, Oh Young Soo’s legal team appealed on the grounds of factual errors, legal misunderstandings, and the severity of the sentence. The next court session is scheduled for October 29.

Oh Young Soo gained fame in 2021 for his role as the “Gganbu Grandpa” in the Netflix original series Squid Game, becoming the first Korean actor to win the Best Supporting Actor in Television award at the Golden Globes in 2022. However, following the conviction and suspended prison sentence for forced molestation, he was banned from appearing on KBS in May.

SEE ALSO: Actors Lee Tae Kyung and Woo Ji Hyeon tie the knot