Quadriplegic Singer Kim Hyuk-gun Speaks Out on 'Park Wee Controversy': "Worried All People with Disabilities Might Be Denied"

Singer Kim Hyuk-gun, formerly of the group The Cross who suffers from quadriplegia, has cautiously shared his thoughts on the recent controversy surrounding YouTuber Park Wee (Weracle).

Recently, Kim posted on his social media account, "While making music, I try not to expose my physical handicap so that people can focus solely on seeing and hearing the music and performance. Even when creating YouTube videos, I make sure the wheelchair is not necessarily visible." He added, "My channel has a small number of subscribers, but I don't think I need to gain subscribers by eliciting pity or special attention because of my disability."

Kim continued, "I recently saw the controversy surrounding a disabled YouTuber. I believe that proudly revealing a disability and talking about one's life certainly has meaning. However, for many individuals with severe disabilities, including myself, proudly exposing our disabilities to the world can sometimes be difficult." He touched upon the controversy sparked by YouTuber Park Wee recently uploading a video of an accident that occurred at a train station.

He went on to say, "I saw comments like 'I will no longer help people with disabilities' or 'There is no need to help them.' I hope this controversy does not lead to all people with disabilities being belittled or cause public perception to worsen. I hope we can understand each other a little more and live together."

He concluded his post by stating, "I, too, will live with a constant heart of gratitude toward society and everyone around me who offers help. I hope this incident does not leave us with too much hurt and despair toward one another."

Previously, on August 14, Park Wee was using the KTX and getting off at Daejeon Station when his wheelchair got caught on the foot of a social service agent, causing him to fall onto the platform. On August 21, he uploaded CCTV footage of the accident to his YouTube channel. Although it was reported that the social service agent was assisting according to the manual for wheelchair ramps when the mistake occurred and immediately offered a polite apology at the scene, criticism arose that Park effectively targeted the worker by posting the video with the remark, "The very fact that he placed his foot on the ramp made me so angry."

As public sentiment worsened, Park deleted the controversial video and posted an apology on his YouTube community page. He apologized, stating, "I failed to consider the perspective of the worker who did his absolute best to help me at the scene and apologized politely. My delivery method was immature and my thinking was short-sighted," but the fallout continues to persist.

Meanwhile, Kim Hyuk-gun debuted in 1999 as the vocalist of the band The Cross and received much love for his refreshing vocals. However, in March 2012, while preparing for a comeback album, he suffered a motorcycle accident on his way home and was diagnosed with quadriplegia. Despite this, Kim has continued his music career after going through a grueling rehabilitation process following the accident.



(Photo: SBS Entertainment News, reported by Kang Kyung-yoon)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.