Born into a prominent Tainan family, and growing up in the era of the dangwai (non-KMT) opposition movement, Wei became politically aware after the 1979 Kaohsiung Incident. He admits that he wanted to be a political analyst or a writer and only became a lawyer due to family pressure. Before graduating with a law degree, he tested into a position as a court clerk but was not interested in the job.
出身於台南望族，成長於黨外運動年代，政治上深受美麗島事件啟蒙的魏千峰，坦承自己求學時代更想當的是政論家或文學家，「奉家族之命」才走上法律之路。