Overview
- An appellate bench at the Suwon District Court overturned a 2024 guilty verdict, nullifying an eight-month suspended sentence and related penalties.
- Judges said counseling records and an apology supported suspicion but found possible memory distortion over time and insufficient proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
- The case stemmed from allegations that O hugged a junior colleague and kissed her on the cheek during a 2017 theater tour; a 2021 complaint led to a 2022 indictment after the case was reopened.
- Prosecutors had pressed for a one-year prison term at both trials, and they now have about a week to decide on a Supreme Court appeal.
- The accuser condemned the acquittal through Womenlink as reinforcing harmful hierarchies, while O, 81, denied wrongdoing and thanked the court for its judgment.