Weracle's Park We, embroiled in controversy over targeting a public service worker, has been silent for three weeks, and his past volunteer work in Kenya is being reexamined.
It has been three weeks since the controversy over Park We targeting a public service worker erupted. In a video titled "CCTV video release Iyoo," he said that after using the KTX, his wheelchair got caught and toppled on the ramp where a public service worker who helped him was standing, and "I was so angry," and he released CCTV footage that could identify the person.
However, as it came to light that the public service worker politely apologized after the accident and had tried to help according to the wheelchair ramp usage manual, the situation reversed. In the end, Park We apologized, saying, "I failed to consider the position of the worker who did their best to help me and politely apologized. I thought only negatively about a mistake that occurred during a process intended to help me better. My way of conveying it was immature and I was thoughtless."
The public was deeply disappointed by behavior that contrasted with the image he had shown, and as people exhumed Park We's past videos, they suspected hypocrisy, saying that from the past he showed complaints rather than gratitude.
Meanwhile, Park We's YouTube channel Weracle, which once had nearly 1 million subscribers, saw subscribers gradually leave and eventually fell below the 950,000 mark. As of the 11th, Weracle had 949,000 subscribers, and the decline was continuing.
Park We has been silent after posting an apology. In an apology of 11 lines and 356 characters, he said he would reflect amid criticism and quietly deleted past exhumed videos. Public anger was directed squarely at his wife, Song Ji-eun, and malicious comments also began to pour in for Kim Ki-ri, known as the matchmaker between the two. Both Song Ji-eun and Kim Ki-ri have currently closed their comment sections.
As Park We's silence lengthened, past videos were exhumed, prompting suspicion about his hypocrisy. Recently, a volunteer video in Kenya released last October has been reexamined; the video shows Park We and Song Ji-eun heading to Kenya to meet children living in slums.
Although the intention to volunteer for slum children was good, the sight of Park We moving in a wheelchair was uncomfortable. While moving along bumpy roads and narrow alleys in a wheelchair, Park We received help from several volunteers. At the time the video was released, public opinion held that Park We's efforts were admirable despite the difficult circumstances, but after the controversy over targeting a public service worker, the reaction reversed. Some netizens responded, "volunteering for self-satisfaction," "went to be served rather than to serve," "volunteering is fine but situational judgment comes first," and "it makes viewers uncomfortable."
[photo] YouTube video capture
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