[Sportschosun reporter Park A-ram] Ko Young-wook, formerly of the group Roo'ra, posted a message hinting at his feelings after sparking controversy by mentioning his work as a Japanese AV actor.
On the 14th, Ko Young-wook uploaded a screenshot of a related article to his X (formerly Twitter) account and added the brief comment, "Enough already..."
The article said that his recent remarks about being a Japanese AV actor were not an announcement of actual plans to enter the industry. Instead, they were a self-deprecating joke expressing frustration and helplessness about reality.
He also quoted a passage from Maria Tumarkin's book, How Not to Speak of Pain. The text he posted read, "No one should be punished beyond the sentence handed down by a court. But the community, the people, do punish."
Earlier, on the 12th, Ko Young-wook drew criticism after posting, "I wanted to live by making people laugh, but it seems hard to find work in Korea," and, "I heard there is a shortage of male AV actors in Japan, and if it is legally possible..."
He later explained that the remarks did not mean he was actually planning to enter Japan's AV industry, but were a self-mocking expression of the reality that his return has been blocked. Still, the criticism did not ease.
Ko Young-wook was sentenced to two years and six months in prison in 2013 on charges of sexual crimes against minors. At the time, the court also ordered five years of public disclosure of his personal information and three years of electronic monitoring.
After his release, he tried to resume activities by launching a YouTube channel, but repeated public criticism over his sex offense record derailed every comeback attempt.
In January this year, he also complained about the difficulty of making a living, writing, "In a world that rejects people unconditionally, what am I supposed to do to survive?" and, "Isn't there some way I can earn even enough to pay for my dog's food?"
tokkig@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
