Ko Young-wook. [Newsis]
Ko Young-wook. [Newsis]

Ko Young-wook, 50, a former member of the K-pop group Rula who served prison time for sexually assaulting minors, has said he wants to pursue a career as an adult film actor in Japan.

Ko wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) account Sunday that he had "simply wanted to make people laugh and live happily," adding: "It seems like it would be difficult to find work in Korea, and I think I saw somewhere that there is a shortage of male adult film actors in Japan."

He followed up with a comment saying "if it is legally possible," signaling his desire to pursue a career in adult films.

The post drew sharp criticism online, with users saying he was "focused only on seeking attention rather than showing remorse" and that he had "once again invited controversy upon himself."

Ko debuted with Rula in 1994 and was sentenced in 2013 to two years and six months in prison on charges of groping and raping three minors. He was also ordered to have his personal information disclosed for five years and to wear an electronic ankle bracelet for three years, earning him the distinction of being the first celebrity in Korea subjected to electronic monitoring.

Ko served his full sentence across three facilities — the Seoul Southern Detention Center, Anyang Prison and Seoul Southern Prison — and was released in 2015.

In November 2020, he opened an Instagram account, saying he wanted to "cautiously reconnect with the world," but it was shut down within a day after accumulating user reports.

Instagram has a policy prohibiting convicted sex offenders from using its platform and encourages users to report such accounts.

Ko also launched a YouTube channel in August 2024, but it was similarly shut down within about two weeks following a flood of reports. He has since been sharing updates about his daily life through X.


yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com