Park Wi's 'Sebasi' lecture video made private amid growing controversy

A lecture video featuring YouTuber Park Wi has been made private on the Sebasi channel.

The video, titled "How to Live a Miraculous Life," originally aired Oct. 1, 2019, on CBS's "Sebasi" — short for "Sesang-eul Bakkuneun Sigan, 15bun," a talk program meaning "15 Minutes to Change the World" — and has since been set to private.

The program invites guest speakers from various fields to deliver short talks for Korean audiences, covering topics such as communication, healing, social recovery and practical lifestyle advice.

While Park Wi's video has been removed from public view, a 2024 appearance by his wife Song Ji-eun, a former member of the K-pop group Secret, remains visible.

Park Wi attended Song's lecture in the audience and expressed his affection for her at the time. "I was listening and I was completely drawn in," he said. "More than anything, I was so happy that she talked about my story. I'm so proud of her, and once again, she's just so beautiful."

Song's lecture video has since been flooded with malicious comments targeting the couple.

The controversy began when Park Wi became embroiled in what has been dubbed the "KTX community service worker targeting and private sanctions" dispute. The backlash has since widened, with past videos resurfacing that show him behaving rudely, and school violence allegations also drawing renewed scrutiny.

The incident occurred as Park Wi was disembarking from a KTX train, when his wheelchair wheel caught the foot of a community service worker who was trying to hold a ramp in place, causing Park Wi to fall. Despite receiving an apology from the worker on the spot, Park Wi posted CCTV footage of the incident on his YouTube channel "Wiracle" and publicly called out the employee.

The move immediately drew criticism from online users, who turned on Park Wi instead. Many argued it was excessive for a channel with 1 million subscribers to publicly release CCTV footage capturing a worker's mistake, especially after the worker had repeatedly apologized.

Park Wi apologized, saying he had "acted without thinking," but a large number of disappointed subscribers left the channel, pushing his subscriber count below the 1 million mark. The Wiracle channel currently has about 947,000 subscribers.

Following the KTX controversy, a 2022 video Park Wi filmed with visually impaired YouTuber Wonshot Hansol also came under scrutiny. In the video, Park Wi repeatedly made remarks such as "Honestly, can you actually see?" and "I'll admit it's not staged" as he watched Wonshot Hansol navigate his surroundings and skillfully cut meat and peel shrimp.

In the wake of the KTX incident, Park Wi stepped down from his role as a Seoul Metropolitan Government honorary ambassador, and a series of scheduled appearances — including a youth lecture and a talk concert — were canceled.

Park Wi was diagnosed with full-body paralysis after a fall in 2014 but regained the ability to move his upper body following rehabilitation. He married Song Ji-eun in October 2024.

min3654@heraldcorp.com