Park We, a YouTuber who has lived with a spinal cord injury resulting in paralysis, has sparked another controversy after previously coming under fire over his younger brother’s wedding speech.
On August 21, Park We uploaded a video to his YouTube channel claiming that he had suffered a fall while getting off a KTX train. The video included CCTV footage related to the incident.
In the footage, Park We, who was using a wheelchair, was attempting to exit the KTX via a ramp when the rear wheel of his wheelchair caught on the foot of a social service worker who was assisting him, causing him to fall.
Park We criticized the incident, saying, “I was so angry that I couldn’t control my emotions in that moment,” and “I couldn’t understand how it happened.” He also said he was shaken because it could have resulted in a much more serious injury.
Park We explained that he made the video not to criticize or hold a specific individual accountable, but to raise awareness about preventing accidents involving wheelchair users and creating a safer environment for people with disabilities.
However, many people felt that publicly sharing CCTV footage of the incident and calling out the social service worker on his YouTube channel, which has one million subscribers, went too far, particularly because the worker had not intentionally caused the accident and had reportedly apologized politely at the scene.
Criticism continued, with comments such as, “You’re exploiting goodwill as malice,” “A disability is not a source of power,” and “You say you’re not trying to criticize a specific person, but then you release the CCTV footage. That doesn’t add up.” Park We subsequently deleted the video and posted an apology, but the backlash has not easily subsided.
This is not the first controversy surrounding Park We.
Park We married Secret member Song Ji-eun in October 2024.
At the time, Park We’s younger brother delivered a wedding speech for the couple, which was uploaded to Park We’s YouTube channel.
Beginning his speech by saying, “From today, I’m the eternal brother-in-law of the bride, Song Ji-eun,” Park We’s younger brother spoke about how difficult life had been for their family after Park We suffered an accident and was diagnosed with paralysis 10 years earlier.
He said that although he was deeply saddened, he felt he could not cry himself, explaining, “I kept worrying about what would happen if something came up that required help. And then my sister-in-law appeared.” His words brought tears to Song Ji-eun’s eyes.
Park We’s brother also revealed a private anecdote about the couple.
He said, “Not long ago, my brother and sister-in-law were working out at the gym when my brother apparently exerted himself too much and something that smelled was accidentally released. So my brother asked, ‘Ji-eun, does it smell?’ and my sister-in-law replied, ‘Just a little.’ She then said, ‘Oppa, don’t worry. Let’s move you from the wheelchair first, and if there’s a problem, I’ll take care of it,’” while making a sniffing gesture.
He continued, “I’ve never heard anyone say something so reassuring in my entire life. Have you? After hearing that, I finally felt that I could let my brother go from my heart. I told him, ‘I’ll send you off to our reliable sister-in-law now. Say goodbye.’”
He also congratulated the couple, saying, “‘What does disability mean to you?’ I answered, ‘It is one strong bond that has brought our family together.’ My brother used that strong bond to tie our sister-in-law tightly into our family as well. Thank you for becoming part of our family. And to my brother, congratulations on your marriage from the bottom of my heart. Thank you, and I love you.”
After the video was released, some viewers criticized the speech as insensitive because it did not sufficiently consider Song Ji-eun and her family’s feelings, while others argued that outsiders had no place interfering in the couple’s personal affairs.
At the time, netizens commented, “The speech was uncomfortable. It would have been enough to say that he was proud of his brother and grateful that she loved him despite his disability. I was confused. It was a speech that completely wiped away the tears,” “There were cameras and it was an important formal occasion. Why would he say something like this publicly?” and “He exposed his brother’s private shortcomings and the hardships his sister-in-law would supposedly face. There were so many better ways to congratulate them.”
Others defended the speech, writing, “The bride was smiling and seemed fine, so why is everyone making such a huge fuss?” “They got married because they love each other and had both families’ approval. If you feel sorry for her, just say, ‘She must have a difficult road ahead,’ and move on,” and “Song Ji-eun looked happy. They seem to love each other very much, so criticizing them over the wedding speech seems strange.”
Park We eventually deleted the portion featuring his younger brother’s wedding speech from the video.
The bigger issue is that whenever controversies surrounding Park We arise, his wife Song Ji-eun also ends up facing criticism.
During the wedding speech controversy, Song Ji-eun was subjected to comments such as, “She brought this on herself,” and “Didn’t she think about her parents? She made the wrong choice by getting married.” Following the recent controversy over the release of the social service worker’s CCTV footage, comments such as “Take better care of your husband” and “Birds of a feather flock together” also flooded online communities.
While the wedding speech controversy did not directly cause harm to another person, the latest incident has drawn heavier criticism because Park We shared CCTV footage containing a social service worker’s mistake with a channel followed by one million people.
Park We is a creator with approximately 990,000 subscribers and runs the YouTube channel Weracle. In 2014, he was diagnosed with paralysis after falling from a building. Following rehabilitation, he has continued to live using a wheelchair.
Song Ji-eun debuted as a member of the girl group Secret in 2009 and released numerous hit songs, including “Love is MOVE” and “Madonna.” After the group disbanded in 2016, she continued working as a solo artist and actress.
Sources: Nate