TikTok Korea removes former singer's account over sex crime record

Platform permanently bans Go Young-wook's account a day after it was opened, citing policy on sexual offenses against minors

TikTok Korea has permanently removed the account of a former K-pop singer convicted of sex crimes against minors, just one day after he joined the platform.

The Korean unit of TikTok said Monday that it permanently suspended and removed the account of Go Young-wook, a former member of the coed group Roo'ra, after becoming aware of it Sunday.

Go had announced the launch of his TikTok account on X a day earlier, sharing a link to a video posted on the platform.

"Under our community guidelines, when an account holder is confirmed to have committed a sexual offense against a young person, we permanently suspend all of their accounts, including associated accounts without exception," TikTok Korea said.

Go responded to the removal on X, saying the decision had made him "someone who can hardly be seen anywhere anymore."

The TikTok removal is not the first time Go has been barred from a major online platform. He launched a personal YouTube channel in August 2024, but the channel was later terminated.

Go, who debuted in 1994, was convicted of sexually assaulting three minors in offenses committed over a period of about two years beginning in 2010.

In 2013, the Supreme Court sentenced him to two and a half years in prison and ordered the disclosure of his personal information for five years and the wearing of an electronic monitoring device for three years.