Jeonjangyeon, 'CCTV Release Controversy' Park Wi Solidarity Proposal: "Let's Fight Together"

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

The National Alliance for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Jeonjangyeon) extended a hand to YouTuber Park Wi, who faced widespread criticism over the controversy surrounding the release of CCTV footage from a KTX fall incident.

On the 2nd, Jeonjangyeon shared a post by an activist from one of its member organizations on social media. In the post, the activist began by stating about Park Wi: "Although we share the keyword 'disability,' at times he seemed like someone living in a completely different world to me—like a non-disabled man in a wheelchair."

He continued, "My perspective has changed after witnessing this incident. It reaffirmed that even someone who once seemed to inhabit a different world can become a target of discrimination and hatred based on disability at any time within a society centered on the non-disabled."

Regarding Park Wi's decision to release the CCTV footage, the activist noted it was "a separate issue requiring criticism and review," while emphasizing that "this issue cannot be equated with the ableist hostility directed at him."

The activist conveyed a message of solidarity to Park Wi: "I hope you do not leave this experience as merely personal misfortune or mistake. Let us discuss together why persons with disabilities must fall while moving, why they must rely on someone's help and kindness every time they move, and why complaints from persons with disabilities are immediately met with terms like 'burden' and 'special privilege.'"

He further extended a hand by saying, "Let us read the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) together, participate in mobility rights campaigns together, and discuss disability rights not as charity or consideration, but through the language of rights."

Adding, "I want to extend my hand to him not as comfort, but as solidarity. The world of resistance is far more arduous than the world of emotion, but now let us fight together," he concluded.

On the 21st of last month, Park Wi released CCTV footage showing himself being knocked off balance by a social service worker's foot while disembarking from a KTX train. Recalling the incident, Park Wi stated, "The social service worker did not act with intent, but I was angered simply by the fact that he placed his foot on the ramp." According to Park Wi, the social service worker apologized politely immediately after the accident.

However, shortly after the footage was released, many netizens raised voices of criticism, arguing it was wrong for a popular YouTuber with 1 million subscribers like Park Wi to release the CCTV video and publicly denounce the social service worker. Moreover, controversy intensified due to allegations that Park Wi did not leave the scene immediately after the accident, directly filmed reenactment videos, and edited out apologies from staff including the social service worker, presenting only his own claims in the final video.

Park Wi later acknowledged the seriousness of the situation and issued a brief apology, stating, "I failed to consider the position of the staff member who did their best to assist me at the scene when the incident occurred and apologized politely." However, public outrage remains unchanged.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original