Coed group member Ko Young-wook drew fresh criticism after saying he had been "rehabilitated" and pleading long-term unemployment.
Ko Young-wook recently wrote on his social media, "Rehabilitation should be to help reintegrate into society, but in a world that tabooizes everything, what can someone like me do to make a living?" adding, "I have aimlessly spent exactly 13 years, 8 months and 21 days as an unemployed person. There is nowhere in this society that will use me, and is there no way to earn money for the food for my beloved dog?" He also shared a song video containing the lyrics "I have nowhere to go" and "what I desperately wish for now is to be a free person."
However, the remarks immediately provoked fierce backlash. Ko Young-wook was detained and prosecuted on charges of committing a total of four counts of rape and sexual assault against three minors between July 2010 and December 2012 at his officetel and in his car (violation of the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Abuse). At the time, he was already under investigation for crimes against 13-year-old victim A and 17-year-old victim B when it emerged that he had additionally sexually assaulted 14-year-old victim C, leading to his detention.
In 2013 the court sentenced Ko Young-wook to 2 years and 6 months in prison, three years of electronic monitoring, and five years of public disclosure and notification of his personal information. He was released at the end of his sentence in July 2015, and after the periods of electronic monitoring and public disclosure of personal information, all legal supervision ended in November 2020.
Controversy resurfaced repeatedly afterward. Ko Young-wook tried to stage a comeback by launching a YouTube channel in 2024, but intense protests followed and the channel was closed 18 days after opening for violating YouTube guidelines. At the time he argued that the channel had been closed solely because he was an ex-convict, saying he had not posted harmful content and raising issues of fairness.
However, because the end of legal punishment does not necessarily mean restoration of social trust or recovery for victims, his arguments invoking "rehabilitation" and "fairness" did not gain sympathy. Ko Young-wook is currently posting only on X (formerly Twitter), which has relatively looser regulations, but public reaction this time is also cold.
Netizens raised their voices in criticism, saying, "The victim's wounds are still ongoing, so it is hard to accept the perpetrator's plea for livelihood," and "Rehabilitation is something you prove yourself, not something recognized by mere claim."
[Photo] OSEN DB
[OSEN]