Ko Young-wook calls TikTok live-streaming celebrities 'washed-up clowns'

Ko Young-wook, a former member of the group Rula, called celebrities who do TikTok live streams "washed-up clowns" in a post pushing back against reports that his TikTok account had been permanently suspended.

In a post shared on his X (formerly Twitter) account Tuesday, Ko said he had written the message three days earlier in response to fans urging him to try TikTok live streaming. "I had absolutely no intention of doing live broadcasts, nor was I in a position to," he wrote, adding that watching other celebrities stream recently had been "a genuine culture shock."

Ko wrote that seeing "washed-up clowns who once ruled an era all shamelessly playing DJ in front of cameras, doing joint streams together and exchanging unfunny banter while fishing for donations" was "unsightly and pitiful." He said the experience only reinforced his decision to stay off TikTok. "It turns out not doing TikTok was actually the right call," he added.

In the same post, Ko said reports claiming his TikTok account had been permanently suspended within a day of being created had appeared all at once a few days earlier. He said he had been using TikTok for about a year to share content about his pet dogs and his music, and to reply to messages from fans who still supported him.

Ko said he had logged into TikTok one day to find a notice — similar to one he had previously received on YouTube — saying his account had been permanently suspended. He said he sent an inquiry email as instructed but received no reply. Since he had used the platform without issue for more than a year, he suspected there had been some mistake and created a new account.

Ko said that after linking the new account to his X profile, articles appeared with headlines such as "Opens TikTok after Instagram and YouTube … persistent comeback attempts," followed the next day by reports that his TikTok account had been permanently suspended within a day of being created.

On Monday, Ko wrote on X that he had "given up" but still found it uncomfortable every time articles about him ran alongside photos of how haggard he looked when he was released from prison.

Ko was indicted on charges including the sexual assault of minors and received a confirmed sentence of two years and six months in prison in 2013, becoming the first celebrity to be fitted with an electronic ankle monitor. After his release upon completing his sentence in 2015, he attempted to resume activity on SNS, but his YouTube channel was permanently suspended.