YouTuber Park Wi faces backlash over speaking fees of up to W15m

YouTuber Park Wi, 39, who has been under fire for releasing CCTV footage of a fall on a KTX train, is now facing fresh criticism over reports that he charged public institutions around 10 million won ($7,230) per speaking engagement.

According to minutes from the administrative and finance committee of Seoul's Dongjak-gu dated Dec. 9, 2024, an official from the Dongjak Cultural Foundation told a budget review session for fiscal year 2025 that Park had quoted fees of "10 million to more than 15 million won" when the foundation explored booking him as a speaker. The session was examining a 12 million won line item for inviting influencer speakers. Each engagement ran two hours.

The foundation said it ultimately booked comedian Kim Young-chul that year, adding that it had considered Park but found his fees too high.

Park did, however, appear as a speaker at a Dongjak-gu event the same year.

Promotional materials for the district's "Dongjak Life Mic" program listed Kim Young-chul as the first-showing speaker and Park as the second-showing speaker.

An event notice posted by the Dongjak Cultural Foundation also named Park as a speaker on Sept. 6. Records on the Seoul Culture Portal show the events were held Aug. 30 and Sept. 6 at Art Hall Bom inside Seoul Women's Plaza.

Fees paid to Park by public institutions varied by engagement, however.

Geumsan-gun paid 5 million won for a Park Wi celebrity lecture contract in 2023, while Yongsan-gu told its district council in 2024 that his speaking fee was "around 6 million won."

This year, Bupyeong-gu signed a special lecture services contract worth 4.46 million won with Wiraclefactory, a company Park heads, and the Gangnam Cultural Foundation concluded a 9.35 million won contract with a lecture agency for a Park Wi talk concert. That concert was recently canceled following a separate controversy over Park's targeting of a social service worker.

Online reaction to the disclosed fees was largely critical. "A YouTuber charging 15 million won for a lecture — isn't that excessive?" wrote one user, while another asked, "Are we really holding these lectures with taxpayer money?"

Author So Jae-won. [Herald POP (now Herald Muse)]

Earlier Wednesday, author So Jae-won weighed in on Instagram, writing that she was struck to learn Park had received 500,000 won per lecture. "I toured the country for 50,000 won — one-tenth of that — even after writing four novels adapted into films, a drama series script, and the original novels behind them," she wrote.

She added that even that amount came only because local governments, libraries and schools insisted on paying something. "Even when I said I did not want to be paid, the organizers said they absolutely had to give me something," she said.

So went on to say that her fees had risen after she began appearing on broadcasts and taking on more speaking engagements, but that she had insisted on giving lectures for free or asked that any fee be donated instead. "The organizers always said they had to pay, so after that I accepted what they said was the minimum standard amount — 50,000 won," she wrote.

She added a pointed message for fellow writers: "If you are a writer, if you truly value your pen, please do not turn the public — the people who gave meaning to your humble work — into customers."

The controversy stems from an incident Park disclosed on his YouTube channel Friday, in which he said his wheelchair caught a social service worker's foot while he descended a portable ramp at a KTX station, causing him to fall. He released CCTV footage of the incident, saying his intent was to prevent future accidents and improve accessibility. Critics argued the move was excessive given that the worker had already apologized.

Park subsequently deleted the video and apologized, saying he had "failed to give enough thought to the worker's position." He has since faced a wave of backlash, with his YouTube subscriber count dropping and scheduled speaking engagements canceled.

yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com