Ko Youngwook Says, "If the Law Permits, I Want to Be an AV Actor in Japan"

Critical Responses to Social Media Post

Ko Youngwook (50), a former member of the group Roola who served a prison sentence for sexually assaulting a minor, has sparked controversy after posting online about his desire to work as an adult video (AV) actor in Japan.

Ko Youngwook, former member of the group Roola. The Asia Business Daily DB

On July 12, Ko wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) account, "I just wanted to live happily and make people laugh," revealing his intentions. He added, "It seems difficult to find a job in Korea," and said, "I heard somewhere that there is a shortage of male AV actors in Japan."

He further expressed interest in working in the Japanese AV industry, saying, "If it is legally possible." In the comments on the post, he reiterated, "If the law permits..."

Ko debuted in the music industry in 1994 as a member of Roola. He was later put on trial for sexually assaulting and molesting a minor, and in 2013, the Supreme Court sentenced him to two years and six months in prison. At the time, the court also ordered five years of public disclosure of his personal information and three years of electronic monitoring. Ko completed his sentence and was released from prison in July 2015.

After his release, he effectively ceased his entertainment activities, but continued to share updates about his life and thoughts on a comeback through social media. In 2020, he opened an Instagram account, but it was shut down within a day due to the platform's policy restricting accounts of sex offenders and user reports. In 2024, he launched a YouTube channel, but it was suspended after about two weeks. At that time, Ko raised the issue of fairness, questioning whether the channel was shut down solely because of his criminal record.

Meanwhile, following the recent post, there has been a wave of critical responses online, including comments such as, "Isn't he more interested in attracting attention than showing remorse?" "Was it really necessary to make such a statement publicly?" and "He has once again courted controversy."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.