Go Young-wook, who earned the ignominious title of "entertainer electronic anklet No. 1" on charges of raping and forcibly molesting minors, is claiming he is wronged while citing entertainers who committed various controversies and crimes.
Go Young-wook was sentenced in 2013 to 2 years and 6 months in prison on charges of raping and forcibly molesting minors and served his sentence. Ordered to have his personal information disclosed for five years and to wear an electronic anklet for three years, he tried to resume activities by opening YouTube and social accounts in 2020 when the personal information disclosure period ended, but the creation of accounts was restricted because of his record of sexual crimes against minors, blocking that avenue.
Go Young-wook, who is currently sharing updates via X (formerly Twitter), is attracting more attention for posts targeting fellow entertainers he used to work with, such as Lee Sang-min and Tak Jae-Hoon, than for his personal updates. Recently, in particular, he aimed at Lee Jae-ryong, who was embroiled in controversy over a third drunk-driving strike, and MC Dingdong, who was involved in a controversy over assaulting a female BJ, leaving posts saying "so lenient like this but only to me...", and "someone this low can openly carry on social activities... what is the standard of this society?", voicing his sense of injustice.
The basis of Go Young-wook's claim of unfairness is relative deprivation. Effectively expelled from the entertainment industry because of his sexual crime record, Go Young-wook summons and targets entertainers who have caused controversies or been criticized by public opinion, and recently mentioned Lee Jae-ryong, who had a third drunk-driving strike, and MC Dingdong, who assaulted a female BJ live on air, leaving the remark "so lenient like this but only to me...".
But the public is not lenient toward entertainers who committed controversies and crimes, contrary to what Go Young-wook says. The public watches entertainers who cause trouble with a stricter moral yardstick than ever, whether for drunk driving, drugs or school violence. In fact, entertainers who committed drunk driving face fierce criticism upon returning even after years of self-restraint, and entertainers accused of drug offenses are routinely edited out of works or forced to leave productions; the public is by no means lenient. The entertainers Go Young-wook points out as active despite controversies are not active as a result of having been forgiven by the public, but are precariously continuing to survive under the weight of criticism they must bear.
In particular, Go Young-wook is targeting entertainers by interpreting the severity of crimes subjectively. While Lee Jae-ryong's drunk driving and the controversy over MC Dingdong assaulting a female BJ are by no means light matters, the sexual crimes Go Young-wook committed against minors are classified as crimes against humanity that completely destroy the lives of children in their developmental years and cannot be compared with personal moral failings or financial wrongdoing. For this reason, it is pointed out that it is inappropriate for him, who earned the dishonor of being the "entertainer electronic anklet No. 1", to denounce others' wrongdoing as "low".
The point that angers the public as Go Young-wook speaks more is this: his action of placing the weight of the crime he committed on the same level as others' mistakes invites criticism questioning whether he has truly reflected even though he has paid all his penalties. His attempts to justify his right to be active by targeting entertainers embroiled in controversies cast doubt on his true intentions, so this is a time when he should show sincere remorse and action.
OSEN=Jang Wooyoung reporter