"Park Wi a School Bully? Absolutely Not That Kind of Person"... Even Classmates Speak Out

Allegations of School Bullying and Juvenile Detention Raised Online
Yongsan High School Classmates Share Positive Stories from His School Days

Controversy is mounting around YouTuber Park Wi. After releasing closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage claiming he had suffered a fall accident while disembarking from a KTX train, he faced a backlash. This was soon followed by additional allegations, including suspicions of school bullying and detention in a juvenile reformatory during his school years.

Recently, posts have appeared on online communities and in YouTube comments claiming that Park Wi returned to school after spending time in a juvenile detention center, or that he bullied friends during his student days. However, there was no objective evidence or information provided to substantiate these claims. As these unverified allegations spread, some users claiming to be Park Wi's classmates from Yongsan High School stepped forward.

YouTuber Park Wi (right) and his wife Song Ji-eun. The Asia Business Daily DB

They stated, "We were classmates who visited Park Wi in the hospital when he became quadriplegic. He is a friend who is completely distanced from school violence or bullying," adding, "If Park Wi had done anything bad, would so many classmates have gone to visit him when he was seriously injured?" They asserted that about 40 classmates from Yongsan High visited the hospital at that time.

Another user who also identified as a classmate said, "He possessed good character, humility, intelligence, and athletic ability during his school days. He even looked after students who were most often ignored in class," and "On school trips, he made rice wraps and shared them with all the classmates," firmly refuting the school bullying allegations.

On Park Wi's YouTube channel, there are also videos from when he was hospitalized with quadriplegia, showing him conversing with visiting friends.

This controversy began on August 21. That day, Park Wi posted a video titled "The Reason for Releasing the CCTV Footage" on his YouTube channel 'WIRACLE.' In the video, Park Wi explained that on August 14, while using a wheelchair to descend a disembarkation ramp from a KTX train, the wheelchair wheel caught on the foot of a public service worker who was securing the ramp, causing him to fall forward.

Although Park Wi said the public service worker had not caused the accident intentionally, he expressed frustration, stating, "I was very angry that his foot was placed on the ramp itself," and highlighted the danger of how easily it could have led to a serious injury. He explained that, due to minimal sensation in his lower body, he would not immediately recognize a fracture or other injury, and emphasized that more meticulous safety management is necessary for wheelchair users during boarding and disembarkation.

However, viewers pointed out that the CCTV footage showed the public service worker apologizing to Park Wi at the scene and, given there was no intent to harm, criticized the decision to release a video exposing an individual’s image to a large subscriber audience as excessive. Ultimately, Park Wi deleted the video and issued an apology, but the controversy has not died down.

Furthermore, the number of subscribers to his YouTube channel has plummeted, the high fees he received for public institution lectures have been revealed, and scheduled special lectures and talk concerts have been repeatedly canceled. Park Wi recently informed the Seoul Metropolitan Government of his intention to step down as an ambassador. He had been appointed as a promotional ambassador for Seoul on June 17 of the previous year, and his term was to last two years, until June of next year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.