[Sportschosun Reporter Baek Ji-eun] Go Young-wook, a former member of the group Roo'Ra, lashed out at writer So Jae-won.
On the 9th, Go Young-wook wrote on his personal account, "I woke up this morning and saw an article about a writer named So Jae-won making baseless malicious remarks about me. I was so dumbfounded that I was momentarily at a loss for words. He wrote about someone with whom he has no connection without checking the facts. This is also a matter worth considering legal action over."
He continued, "Why are you trying to connect your novel 'Sowon' to me? Do you really know me? I completed three years of probation, and I never once violated the electronic monitoring requirement or the restriction on going out between midnight and 6 a.m. I also went to the police station every year for 10 years to have my photograph taken. My mother is currently in such poor health that she has difficulty walking for more than 10 minutes, so I have to go grocery shopping. If I hide away as you want me to, will you do the grocery shopping for me instead?"
Go Young-wook added, "I am simply posting my thoughts. It may look like something I wrote without thinking, but I am posting the things I had in my heart and could not say to people who were connected to me in the past."
On the 7th, writer So Jae-won criticized Go Young-wook, saying, "How long are we supposed to keep watching the shameless Go Young-wook, who committed sex crimes against minors, go on about things? He is someone who did things so horrifying and terrible to young girls that it is frightening even to put them into writing. How can someone like that brazenly criticize another person and carry on as if nothing happened?"
He continued, "Do you truly feel no shame or guilt toward the victims who live with memories of such terrible fear? Whenever they see your name in the media, their hearts drop with a thud, and they are left trembling and not knowing what to do. Do you feel not even the slightest sense of guilt toward those victims and their families? Even hiding away would not be enough, so how can you live as such a malicious attention seeker?"
He also quoted a passage from the novel 'Sowon': "Every record that features God and the devil contains stories of sinners who committed rape. But there are no stories about someone raping a child. Why is that? Because it is an act even the devil rejects. Even the devil will not forgive you. The gates of heaven will of course remain closed to you, and even the gates of hell will not open for you."
Go Young-wook was accused of giving alcohol to a 14-year-old middle school student, identified as A, in 2010 and sexually assaulting her twice before reaching a settlement; sexually assaulting B, a high school student who aspired to become a model, in 2012; and sexually assaulting C, a 14-year-old middle school student, in December 2012. Go Young-wook denied all the charges, but the trial court sentenced him to five years in prison, seven years of public disclosure of his personal information, and 10 years of electronic monitoring. On appeal, the fact that he had reached settlements with A and B was taken into consideration. He was found guilty only of indecent assault against C, and his sentence was reduced to two years and six months in prison, five years of public disclosure, and three years of electronic monitoring. Go Young-wook appealed to the Supreme Court, but the court dismissed the appeal. He completed his sentence at Anyang Correctional Institution and was released in 2015.
Reporter Baek Ji-eun silk781220@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
