Ko Young-wook, convicted of sexually assaulting minors, criticizes Bibi's Waterbomb performance

Ko Young-wook (50), a former member of the group Rula who was sentenced to prison for sex crimes against minors, has criticized the Waterbomb festival, asking whether it is a competition to see who can undress the most.

On Monday, Ko shared a news article on X, formerly Twitter, about singer Bibi's performance at Waterbomb Seoul 2026, writing: "I don't know much living out in the provinces, but is Waterbomb or whatever it's called a competition where singers come out and compete to see who can strip down the most?"

He added, "Thinking about Africa where water is scarce, I feel sorry on their behalf."

Waterbomb is a large-scale music festival combining K-pop, hip-hop and EDM performances with a massive water-gun fight. It is held in major cities across South Korea — including Busan, Daegu and Gwangju — as well as overseas.

Audiences bring water guns and buckets, while artists on stage shoot back at the crowd and deliver high-energy performances even as they get soaked.

The festival draws controversy over its sexually suggestive content every year.

Singer Bibi performed at Waterbomb Seoul 2026 on Saturday at the outdoor Global Stage at KINTEX in Ilsan, Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, delivering hit songs including "Bam Yang Gang" and "Bad X."

Bibi took the stage in a tight white jumpsuit and, midway through the performance, knelt down surrounded by male dancers before unzipping the jumpsuit to reveal a bikini top underneath.

The performance drew criticism, with some calling it "essentially adult-rated content" and others saying "the choreography evoking certain sexual acts was embarrassing."

Ko debuted with Rula in 1994 and was sentenced to two years and six months in prison in 2013 on charges of sexually assaulting and raping three minors. He was also ordered to have his personal information made public for five years and to wear an electronic monitoring anklet for three years, making him the first South Korean celebrity required to wear such a device.

Ko served his full two-and-a-half-year sentence at several facilities, including Nambu Detention Center, Anyang Prison and Seoul Nambu 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 the 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 his daily life through X.