As YouTuber Park Wi is embroiled in controversy over releasing video of a fall accident on a KTX, the Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (SADD) reached out, saying "let's fight together now," and called for joining voices on disability mobility rights.
On the 2nd, the official social media (SNS) of SADD carried an article titled "He did not know the nondisabled-centered society," written by Kim Sang-hee, head of the Nodeul Center for Independent Living for Persons with Disabilities.
Kim first said she did not usually like Park Wi's content. Kim wrote, "Rather than the social structures that create disability, the image of an individual with a disability adapting well to a nondisabled society was highlighted more," adding, "It showed the lives of people with disabilities but did not question a nondisabled-centered social structure; instead, it was a narrative that let nondisabled people feel relieved and moved by looking at the lives of people with disabilities."
However, watching the recent controversy surrounding Park Wi, Kim said she came to think differently. Kim emphasized, "In a nondisabled-centered society, you can at any time become a target of discrimination and hate because of disability—this fact was confirmed again."
Regarding Park Wi's release of the video from the time of the KTX fall, Kim noted that even if there is room for criticism, it should not lead to hate against disability itself. Kim said, "Thinking the release of the video was inappropriate does not give anyone the right to mock disability, to attack the very demand for mobility rights by people with disabilities, or to pour hate even on his partner who had nothing to do with the incident."
Kim then suggested joining voices with Park Wi on the issue of disability mobility rights. Kim proposed, "I hope you do not leave that experience as mere personal misfortune or mistake," and, "It would be good to talk together about why a person with a disability has to fall while moving, why they must rely on someone's help and kindness every time they travel, and why, when a person with a disability protests, the words 'nuisance' and 'privilege' immediately follow."
Kim added, "Let's read the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) together, run mobility-rights campaigns together, and talk about the rights of people with disabilities in the language of rights, not as charity or consideration," and said, "I want to reach out a hand to him, not consolation. The world of resistance will be far more exhausting than the world of inspiration, but let's fight together now."
Earlier, Park Wi was involved in an accident in which his wheelchair tipped over while disembarking from a KTX, and he posted closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage of the scene on his YouTube channel.
The video showed Park Wi descending a ramp when the wheelchair's wheel caught the foot of a nearby social service agent, causing it to tip over. Park Wi said the social service agent did not act intentionally and that he received a sincere apology, but he also conveyed the anger he felt at the time of the accident.
However, some said it was excessive to publicly post a video that showed an individual's mistake. Park Wi later deleted the video and posted an apology, but the controversy spread to his past content and activities. Questions were also raised over high lecture fees from public institutions, and Park Wi eventually stepped down as a Seoul city public relations ambassador.