Ko Young-wook, a former member of coed group Roolla, continued to pursue an aggressive presence on social media despite critical public sentiment.
On the 15th, Ko Young-wook posted on his personal social media, "I said something true, so why is everyone making a fuss?" Along with this, he additionally shared photos capturing comments by internet users criticizing him and reactions defending him.
This is interpreted as a rebuttal to the criticism of the social media posts Ko Young-wook previously left. Recently, Ko Young-wook faced public backlash on social media for repeatedly targeting fellow entertainers and even mentioning Japanese adult video actors in his remarks.
First, on the 11th he wrote, "I was watching Channel A weekend news and switched the TV, and I was quite surprised that 'Immortal Songs' is still on," sharing a captured broadcast scene from the KBS 2TV variety program "Immortal Songs." He also mockingly referred to "Immortal Songs" MC Shin Dong-yeob, saying, "Should I call him a craftsman.. drinking and doing TV, his stamina seems remarkable. Well, when you watch Animal Farm his eyes always look glazed…"
The next day, the 12th, he again targeted Yu Jae-seok sarcastically, sharing a captured photo of Yu Jae-seok from the MBC variety program Hangout With Yoo and writing, "Is television really this great.. how much richer must he become to be satisfied.. his greed has no end."
Later that same day Ko Young-wook left another post, "I wanted to make people laugh and just live happily. It seems hard to find a job in Korea. I think I once saw somewhere that Japanese male AV actors are in short supply. If it is legally possible," indirectly referring to lingering attachment to television and financial hardship.
Ko Young-wook, who debuted as a member of Roolla in 1994, continued to receive public affection by appearing on various variety shows even after the group's disbandment. However, it was later revealed that from 2010 to 2012 he raped minors on three occasions, for which he was arrested; after the case went to the Supreme Court in 2013 he was sentenced to two years and six months in prison, ordered to wear an electronic monitoring device for three years, and had his personal information disclosed and notified for five years. He was released after serving his full term in July 2015, but was expelled from the entertainment industry amid the ignominy of being known as the first entertainer required to wear an electronic monitoring device.
Nevertheless, Ko Young-wook continued to show lingering desires to return to the entertainment industry by opening personal social media accounts after his electronic monitoring device was removed in 2018 and after the period for public disclosure of his personal information ended in July 2020. In August 2024 he even opened a personal YouTube channel, but the channel was later closed by YouTube.
[Photo] OSEN DB.
[OSEN]