KB News Desk
Park We revealing a worker’s mistake while helping sparks public furor
Popular YouTuber Park We, known for his YouTube channel “Weracle” about his life as a disabled person, decided to resign from his position as honorary ambassador of Seoul after his reveal of a wheelchair-related fall sparked public backlash.
Park recently informed the Seoul Metropolitan Government of his intention to step down, according to city officials Thursday. The city said it would proceed with the necessary administrative steps.
The decision follows criticism touched off by a recent video posted by Park, showing surveillance footage of him falling while getting off a KTX train on Aug. 14.
Park was being assisted by social service personnel — who serve an alternate form of mandatory military service — when his wheelchair got caught on the helper’s foot and he got thrown to the ground.
Many members of the public argued that Park had unnecessarily exposed an individual worker’s mistake to public scrutiny, even though the worker had apologized at the time.
He later deleted the video and apologized, saying, “I failed to consider the position of the staff member who did his best to help me and apologized politely.”
Despite the apology, public continued to bash Park and subscribers of his channel — over 1 million subscribers at the time the video was posted — fell to around 964,000 as of Friday.
Complaints were filed asking Seoul to review whether Park should remain an ambassador. Several of his scheduled appearances, including a Seoul youth policy lecture, have been canceled.
Questions raised over Korail protocol
The controversy has also drawn attention to a separate safety issue involving wheelchair boarding equipment.
A station employee from Korail, the state-run railway operator, told MBC radio “Kim Jong-bae’s Focus” Tuesday that staff commonly press the ramps down with their foot, as they sometimes do not sit flush with the ground.
However, securing the ramp with a foot is not specified in the official manual, according to a separate Korail statement cited by a panelist on the program.
This discrepancy raises concerns over the fact that safety seems to depend more on informal techniques devised by workers rather than a clear system.
Park was paralyzed from the waist down after an accidental fall in 2014 and has used a wheelchair since, building a YouTube channel focused on disability advocacy. He married Song Ji-eun, formerly of girl group Secret, in 2024.
Park had served as a Seoul honorary ambassador since June 17, 2025, with a two-year term originally set to run until June next year. The role is intended to promote the city’s image and policies.
