Comedian Kim Ki-ri disables comments amid backlash over Park Wi controversy

YouTuber Park Wi and singer Song Ji-eun. [Park Wi's SNS]

As YouTuber Park Wi faces growing backlash over his CCTV video controversy, comedian Kim Ki-ri — who introduced Park to his wife, singer Song Ji-eun — has been flooded with hostile comments on social media, prompting him to disable comments on his SNS accounts.

As of Monday, Kim's SNS comment sections remain blocked. The move came after users began leaving mocking remarks targeting Kim in connection with the Park Wi and Song Ji-eun controversy.

Commenters criticized Kim for making the introduction, writing things such as, "Would you have set Park Wi up with Song Ji-eun if she were your own sister?", "Did you introduce him to others because you thought he was such a great person?" and "Would you still give your blessing if a family member wanted to marry a person with a disability?"

Kim is widely credited with playing matchmaker in Park and Song's relationship.

Song first learned about Park after Kim gave her one of Park's books to read, and the two later met at an early-morning church service Kim attended, eventually becoming a couple.

Park himself confirmed on SBS's "Same Bed, Different Dreams 2 — You Are My Destiny" that he had met Song through Kim.

When the couple's relationship first became public, Kim openly celebrated their future together. He also left a comment on Park's YouTube channel "Wiracle," saying the two were far kinder and more lovable in person than they appeared on screen.

Meanwhile, Park has been at the center of controversy after being accused of publicly targeting a social service worker through a CCTV video he posted online.

In a video uploaded to YouTube on Aug. 21, Park said he had fallen from his wheelchair while disembarking from a KTX train on Aug. 14, and released closed-circuit television footage of the incident.

The footage shows Park descending a ramp in his wheelchair when the rear wheel caught on the foot of a social service worker, sending him lurching forward. The worker had been standing on the ramp to hold it in place.

Park said he posted the video to raise awareness about accessibility conditions for people with disabilities and to prevent similar accidents, but criticism mounted over his decision to publicly call out — through a channel with a large following — a worker who had been helping him at the scene and had already apologized.

As the controversy spread, Park deleted the video and issued an apology, but scheduled speaking engagements and a talk concert with the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Gangnam Cultural Foundation were subsequently canceled. His YouTube subscriber count, which had once exceeded 1 million, plunged to around 957,000.

yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com