In a significant cast alteration, Squid Game fame Oh Yeong-soo has been replaced by actor Lee Soon-jae in the upcoming film Big Family. Oh Yeong-soo’s management company Lotte Entertainment confirmed the news on February 5. Directed by Yang Woo-seok, Big Family is touted to be a family drama, the release date of which is yet to be unveiled. Yang Woo-seok is credited with acclaimed movies like the 2013 thriller drama The Attorney and the 2017 action thriller, Steel Rain. Oh Yeong-soo stepping down from the big project comes on the heels of the actor facing one-year imprisonment following a sexual harassment case.
A Lotte Entertainment representative announced today, “Oh Young-soo is stepping down from ‘Big Family.’ Lee Soon-jae will take on the role in his place.” Big Family revolves around the tale of “cute grandchildren” visiting the owner of a dumpling shop named Pyeong Man Ok. The food business of the person running the restaurant is doing poorly financially after his son decided to become a monk. Apart from Lee Soon-jae, the film also boasts a cast ensemble of Lee Seung-gi, Kang Han-na, and Kim Yun-seok.
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According to reports, Oh Yeong-soo was accused of groping and kissing a woman without consent in 2017. The woman lodged a sexual harassment case against the actor in December 2021. The following year in April, the case was dismissed, only to be reopened upon the accuser’s request. In November 2022, Oh Yeong-soo was booked for charges of sexual misconduct.
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During the February 2 trial this year, the Seongnam branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors Office ordered that Oh Yeong-soo be put behind bars for one year. The actor was also prohibited from working with young stars and children in the future. “He avoided his responsibility, saying the victim was ‘like a daughter to him’, though the victim asked for an apology, making the victim frustrated,” The Straits Times quoted an officer as saying. Denying the allegation during the trial period, Oh Yeong-soo shared in a statement with Korean broadcaster JTBC that he just held the woman’s hand to “guide the way around the lake.” Oh Yeong-soo’s next court hearing is to be conducted on March 15.
In Squid Game, Oh Yeong-soo essayed the character of Oh Il-nam, an elderly contestant in the survival game, suffering from a brain tumour. He bagged the Best Supporting Actor award at the Golden Globes 2022.
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