“Did you cry because you liked me?”... Park Wi again under fire for an “over-the-line joke” in front of Song Ji-eun’s close friend

[Financial News] Creator Park Wi, who suspended his activities after facing public backlash for releasing CCTV footage of himself falling while getting off a KTX train, is once again embroiled in controversy after a joke he made in the past to his wife Song Ji-eun’s close friend came to light.
According to online communities and social media on the 29th, a scene from a video posted on Park Wi’s YouTube channel “Weracle” last July has resurfaced and drawn criticism. The video showed Park Wi and Song Ji-eun inviting her close friend, CCM singer Yeoniel, to their home for a meal.
In the video, Yeoniel recalled when she first learned that the two were dating. “I saw him from a distance and thought, ‘That’s Wi!’ But as soon as Ji-eun introduced him as ‘my boyfriend,’ I started crying,” she said.
Park Wi then trailed off, saying, “Oh, could it be that those tears were actually for me...” It was a joke suggesting that Yeoniel might have been romantically interested in him in the past.
When Yeoniel and Song Ji-eun seemed flustered and did not respond after his remark, Park Wi looked sheepish and said, “I’m sorry.” Song Ji-eun hurried to smooth things over, saying, “Weren’t they tears of sadness because you couldn’t bear to let Ji-eun go?” Park Wi replied, “I was trying to make a joke, but neither of you got it,” and a caption appeared on the video: “If you got it, leave a comment.”
When the scene recently began circulating online again, netizens reacted coldly. Many criticized his thoughtless remarks, saying, “That’s not the kind of joke you make to your wife’s close friend when your wife is right there,” “They understood it; they just didn’t respond because they were dumbfounded,” and “He’s rude and egotistical.” Others, however, said, “It was just a simple joke. Isn’t it being overinterpreted because of the previous controversy?”
Last August, Park Wi was involved in an accident while getting off a KTX train, when a wheel of his wheelchair caught on the foot of a social service worker who was helping him, causing him to fall. Although he received an immediate apology at the scene, he posted the CCTV footage on YouTube, prompting fierce criticism that he had gone too far with a “public callout.”
As public criticism intensified, Park Wi posted an apology and made the video private. He also voluntarily resigned from his position as a Seoul City promotional ambassador and has been inactive for more than two months. But while his silence has continued, inappropriate remarks in old videos and the so-called “foster daughter remark” have surfaced one after another, and the channel’s subscriber count—which once topped one million—has recently plunged to around 930,000.
[email protected] Moon Young-jin Reporter