Questions raised over Park Wi's decision to release CCTV footage publicly

Claims have emerged that YouTuber Park Wi obtained CCTV footage of his KTX fall accident faster than would normally be expected.

According to the YouTube channel "Yeonye Dwittongyeong Lee Jin-ho," Lee Jin-ho addressed Park Wi's handling of the incident in a video titled "Korail employees trembling at Park Wi's anger… the reason even his wife Song Ji-eun was surprised."

"Even for the person directly involved in an incident, obtaining the actual CCTV footage is not straightforward," Lee said. "While the party concerned can view the footage on-site, obtaining the file itself requires going through a de-identification process via a public information disclosure request."

Lee said the review and application process for footage access takes 3 to 10 days, the de-identification work takes 3 to 7 days, and the final security review and copy issuance takes one to two days. "While I cannot confirm the exact point at which Park Wi obtained the footage, it appears he secured the de-identified video within seven days," he said.

Park Wi's accident occurred around noon on Aug. 14, and the footage was made public on Friday.

"The purpose of CCTV footage obtained through a public information disclosure request is to establish the cause of an accident and seek remedy," Lee said. "It was never intended for public release."

He added that Park Wi had released the mosaic-blurred footage through his 1-million-subscriber channel to raise a sweeping public complaint.

Lee criticized Park Wi, saying that while Park had asked the public to refrain from directing criticism at specific individuals, he himself — as a YouTuber with 1 million subscribers — had used the footage to mount a large-scale attack on the mistake of a man in his 20s serving as a social service worker, rather than raising questions about systemic failures.

Lee also said the editing appeared selective, noting that scenes in which the social service worker apologized multiple times were cut, while footage of an angry Park Wi and visibly tense Korail employees was highlighted.

Park Wi had earlier posted footage on his YouTube channel "Wiracle" showing his wheelchair wheel catching on the foot of a social service worker who was securing a ramp as he disembarked from a KTX train, causing him to fall. After criticism mounted that his response had been excessive, Park made the video private and issued an apology.