"Weracle" Park We's controversy over targeting a public service worker has intensified. Remaining silent for two weeks while quietly deleting videos, Park We has continued to face controversy as past videos keep being exhumed.
On the 14th of last month, after using the KTX and disembarking, Park We suffered an accident in which his wheelchair caught on the foot of a social service worker and he fell onto the platform. A week later, after posting a video that included CCTV footage, he faced backlash and apologized.
Although the social service worker, who had tried to help according to the wheelchair ramp usage manual, gave a polite apology, Park We still displayed anger and was criticized for releasing CCTV footage that could potentially identify the person. As a result, doubts arose about the sincerity of his past behavior, and he became embroiled in further controversy.
After an 11-line apology that said, "I could not consider the position of the worker who did their best to help me and politely apologized. I viewed the mistake that occurred in the process of trying to help me better only negatively. My way of conveying it was clumsy and my thinking was short," Park We has remained silent. Meanwhile, as past videos have been exhumed, he is being suspected of hypocrisy for showing complaints rather than gratitude in earlier videos.
The fact that he deleted videos containing such content while staying silent poured fuel on the controversy. "Weracle" deleted the video "Why I released the CCTV" on the 23rd of last month, then deleted 10 more videos on the 26th, and three more on the 28th. As a result, "Weracle" now has only 785 videos remaining.
Although the reason for deleting those posts was not made clear, attention is focused on the fact that they were videos with keywords such as "social experiment camera" and "the uncomfortable truth." The videos described courtesies or disappointments experienced while using public transportation, and some netizens said they empathized with the intent to highlight the practical inconveniences faced by people with disabilities while criticizing the portrayal as overly negative about domestic attitudes and levels of consideration for people with disabilities.
Although Park We deleted videos, the exhumation of past videos continues. In particular, netizens criticized the video he posted on Sept. 30, 2023, titled "The wheelchair wheel burst as soon as I arrived in the U.S. ... they say it's not their fault at the airport," calling the title "an utterly incomprehensible video title."
The video shows Park We in business class, unlike companions who used economy, being helped by crew to switch to an onboard wheelchair or use the airplane lavatory. After arriving at a U.S. airport and switching back to his own wheelchair, Park We discovered shortly after that the right tire had torn and lost air, and he went to a tire shop run by a Korean owner about an hour away to have it fixed.
The reason the video was criticized is that it did not include any scene of discussing the wheel problem with airport staff. Netizens questioned why the title "they say it's not their fault at the airport" was chosen and offered criticisms such as "someone who always blames others," "why is this the airport's fault?", "it keeps coming up like an onion," and "why do they keep blaming others?"
He has remained silent, and his controversy has continued as evidence of quietly deleting videos surfaced. In the meantime, his subscriber count fell from 1 million to 950,000, putting the channel in its biggest crisis.
[OSEN]