YouTuber Park Wi drops below 1 million subscribers amid backlash over KTX fall footage

YouTuber Park Wi has apologized and moved to contain the fallout from a controversy over his decision to release CCTV footage of a fall on a KTX train, but the backlash has continued — and his YouTube channel has now dipped below 1 million subscribers.

As of 7 a.m. Monday, Park's YouTube channel "Weracle" had about 998,000 subscribers, down from the 1 million-plus it had maintained before the controversy erupted. Subscriber cancellations have continued in the wake of the dispute.

On Friday, Park uploaded a video titled "The reason I am releasing the CCTV footage."

The footage showed Park falling forward out of his wheelchair while moving down a ramp after getting off a KTX train. The accident occurred when a wheel of his wheelchair caught the foot of a social service worker who had been standing on the ramp.

Park said the worker had not acted intentionally and had apologized politely immediately afterward, but added that he had been "so angry" at the time.

He said he released the footage to raise awareness of mobility safety issues for people with disabilities and to prevent similar accidents from recurring. He noted that depending on the severity of one's disability, it can be difficult to brace oneself with one's arms during a fall, and that a single mistake can lead to serious injury.

Online, however, the decision drew criticism, with many questioning whether it was appropriate to publicly post footage of what amounted to a simple mistake by someone who had been trying to help.

Commenters wrote things such as "He helped you and made one mistake and you immediately put him on blast," "Who would trip someone on purpose," "Sincerely apologize to the person involved," "Publishing the CCTV footage of someone who made a mistake while trying to help is excessive," and "Who would dare help a person with a disability after this." Others expressed sympathy with Park's stated purpose, saying "There is a need to show the real danger to prevent it from happening again."

As the criticism spread, Park deleted the video and posted an apology. "I failed to consider the position of the worker who did their best to help me at the scene and apologized politely," he wrote. "I viewed only negatively a mistake that happened in the course of someone trying to help me better. My way of communicating was immature and my thinking was shortsighted."

Some online users took their criticism further, leaving comments on the social media account of Park's wife, Song Ji-eun, such as "Please manage your husband" and "Did you not pay attention to what your husband was uploading?"

Song, a former member of the girl group Secret, married Park in October 2024. Park suffered a cervical spine fracture and was diagnosed with full-body paralysis after falling from a building in 2014, but has continued steady rehabilitation since then.