YouTuber Park Wee (박위), husband of former Secret member Song Ji-eun (송지은), has sparked controversy after releasing CCTV footage related to an incident with a public service worker. Now, a long-time supporter and parent of a 10-year-old autistic son has publicly commented, calling Park's actions "too thoughtless" and suggesting the video could further harm those in social welfare blind spots.
On August 23, a comment circulated in South Korean online communities from a fan who claimed to have followed Park Wee's channel since it had around 60,000 to 70,000 subscribers. The fan stated they majored in social welfare and had even attended events hosted by Park with their child, identifying themselves as a long-time supporter.
She admitted that the incident left her deeply disappointed, saying, "I watched that video from beginning to end. I am also raising a 10-year-old autistic boy myself."
She further pointed out that even within systems like public service workers and social service agents, there are many children similar to her son. Despite having relatively higher intelligence and thus not being classified with a disability grade, and even graduating from special education classes, they remain in social welfare blind spots.
The netizen suggested that the worker in the video might simply be a general social service agent, but other circumstances could also exist. She used her own child's future as an example, stating that in about 10 years, her son might face military service. "Although the state does not recognize him as disabled, if a child who attended special classes and has difficulty communicating is sent to the military, they might ultimately be assigned as a social service agent."
She therefore believes that for some, this video could become "another wound" or even a new form of discrimination, directly stating, "It was truly too thoughtless."
The incident originated from a video titled "The Reason for Publicizing CCTV Footage" that Park Wee uploaded to his YouTube channel "WIRACLE" on August 21.
According to the video, Park Wee was traveling by KTX on August 14 for a lecture, using KTX train 300. As he was disembarking down a ramp as usual, he suddenly saw a foot appear in front of him. The wheel of his wheelchair seemingly got caught by the foot, causing him to fall directly to the ground.
Park Wee later released the CCTV footage of the incident. The video shows him falling forward while disembarking down the ramp, seemingly tripped by the foot of the public service worker assisting him.
Fortunately, Park Wee extended his hands in time to brace himself, preventing more serious injuries. However, he noted that at the time, he was gradually losing sensation below his collarbone, so even a fracture might not have been immediately noticeable, making the memory of the incident quite harrowing.
Park Wee emphasized at the time that the video was not released to blame a specific individual or assign responsibility. Instead, he hoped to raise public awareness about the safety of wheelchair users and promote a more accessible environment.
However, given that the public service worker had already apologized to Park Wee multiple times, and Park has over a million subscribers, some felt that directly publicizing the CCTV footage showing the worker's mistake was excessive. Related criticism has continued to mount.
Following the escalating controversy, Park Wee ultimately set the video to private and issued another apology. He stated that he had not adequately considered the perspective of the worker who had tried their best to assist him at the scene and had sincerely apologized afterward. Instead, he had only viewed the worker's mistake during the assistance from a negative angle.
Park Wee admitted that his communication was immature and his consideration insufficient, and he apologized to all staff members who worked hard to assist him that day.
