TikTok deletes Ko Young-wook's account, citing permanent ban for sex crimes against minors

TikTok has deleted the account of Ko Young-wook, a former member of the group Rula who served prison time for sex crimes against minors.

TikTok Korea said Monday it removed Ko's account that morning. "Under our community guidelines, if an account holder is confirmed to have committed sex crimes against minors, we permanently suspend not only that account but any other accounts held by the same user," the company said, adding that the action was taken in accordance with those guidelines.

Ko had recently created a TikTok account and begun posting videos. He shared links to the clips through his X (formerly Twitter) account; the videos showed him walking past murals while wearing a black coat and hat.

Ko's attempts to establish an online presence have repeatedly been shut down. An Instagram account he opened in November 2020 was closed under the platform's policy prohibiting sex offenders from using its service. A YouTube channel called "Go! Youngwook," launched Aug. 5, 2024, was deleted 18 days later, on Aug. 23 of that year.

At the time, YouTube said it had closed the channel "in accordance with our creator responsibility guidelines, which prohibit behavior that harms the community off-platform," and that the user would no longer be permitted to own or create any other YouTube channel.

Ko was indicted on charges of sexually assaulting or molesting three minors at his officetel and in his car between July 2010 and December 2012.

A trial court found him guilty on all counts and sentenced him to five years in prison, seven years of public disclosure of personal information, and 10 years of electronic monitoring.

An appeals court acquitted him on some of the charges the lower court had upheld and took into account settlements reached with some victims and the withdrawal of certain complaints. It reduced his sentence to two years and six months in prison, five years of personal information disclosure, and three years of electronic monitoring. The Supreme Court later upheld the sentence.

Ko was released from Anyang Prison in July 2015 after serving his full term. His electronic monitoring ended in July 2018, and the public disclosure of his personal information concluded in July 2020.