자기계발서 ‘스펙보다 열정이다’ 낸 20대 대학생 멘토의 경력이 가짜인 것으로 들통났다.
9일 조선일보에 따르면 ‘스펙’보다 ‘열정’이라던 20대 ‘대학생 멘토’가 사실은 경력을 속여 자서전을 내고, 이 사실이 밝혀진 후에도 전국 고교•대학교에 강연을 다닌 것으로 드러났다.
이에 연세대는 8일 “20대 멘토로 유명했던 원주캠퍼스 컴퓨터정보통신공학부 김원기(28)씨를 제적하고 징계 절차에 들어갔다”며 “법적 대응도 불사할 예정”이라고 밝혔다.
실업계 고교를 졸업하고 2004년 대불대에 입학한 김씨는 두 차례 편입 끝에 2008년 연세대 원주캠퍼스에 들어갔다. 김씨는 2010년부터 “실업계 고교 꼴찌였던 내가 4학년이 되기도 전에 삼성SDS에 특채됐다”며 자신을 홍보했고, 신문과 방송에서 그의 ‘성공 스토리’가 알려지기 시작했다.
김씨는 ‘대학생 멘토’로 알려지면서 전국의 고등학교와 대학교서 활발한 강연활동도 펼쳤다. 지난해 6월엔 ‘스펙보다 열정이다’는 제목의 자서전을 냈다. 부제는 ‘전교 꼴찌에서 삼성맨까지, 김원기의 멈추지 않는 도전’이었다.
김씨의 거짓말은 삼성SDS가 출판사에 “그런 사람이 입사한 적 없다”고 항의하면서 들통났다. 출판사는 보름 만에 책 전량을 회수하고 절판했다. 김씨는 출판사에 손해배상금 2000만원을 물어줬고 삼성SDS 측엔 ‘입사했다고 사칭하지 않겠다’는 각서를 제출했다.
김씨는 그러나 한 달도 지나지 않아 또 거짓말을 했다. 네이버 인물 정보 경력란에 ‘연세대 MBA(졸업)’를 추가한 뒤 계속 ‘성공 신화의 주인공’인 척 꾸몄다. 교수들이 “이 학생은 학부 졸업도 안 했는데 MBA를 졸업했다는 건 말도 안 된다”고 알려오자 연세대는 지난 6월 징계를 검토했다. 지난달 25일 ‘학사 경고 3회 누적’으로 김씨를 제적했다. 김씨는 조선일보와 통화에서 “모두 사실이다. (성공하기 위해) 어쩔 수 없이 거짓말을 했다”고 말했다.
‘Youth mentor’ admits lying about career
Kim Won-gi, a 28-year-old college student who was recently hoisted by media as a “student mentor,” admitted that he lied about being hired by Samsung SDS and his alleged master’s degree from Yonsei University.
“It’s (the accusations of lies) all true. I had to lie in order to succeed,” he told the Chosun Ilbo newspaper on Friday.
On Thursday, Yonsei University announced that Kim had been expelled for poor academic performance and disciplinary actions were being sought against him.
“The student in question did not even graduate. To say that he already earned a master’s degree is absurd,” the university said, adding that it was mulling legal action against Kim.
Since 2010, Kim had been spreading success stories about himself. He claimed to have been hired by Samsung SDS, an IT service arm of Samsung group, over a year before graduation.
He promoted his fake success while emphasizing that he had been at the bottom of the class during his high school years, a story that was well received by the public and media.
Thanks to a lack of fact-checking, Kim quickly became a popular motivational speaker built on sheer lies.
He published a book about himself in June 2011, which was titled “Spec-bodan Yeoljeongida (It is Passion That Counts, Not Spec).” “Specs” refer to qualities commonly sought of job seekers.
The book tells a story of Kim going from troublemaker to employee of Samsung Group, one of the most coveted workplaces among Korean college students. He also encouraged youngsters to try out instead of just studying hard.
Barely two weeks after the book was published, Samsung SDS told the book’s publisher that Kim had never been hired by the company. The publisher was forced to remove all the copies of the book at bookstores and Kim had to pay it 20 million won ($18,000) to compensate for the losses.
The revelation about Kim’s lies shocked many students who saw him as a role model.
In South Korea, the prolonged economic slump has hit the job market. The unemployment rate of people in their 20s marked 8.4 percent in the first half of this year, and the monthly rate marked a two-year high of 9.1 percent in February.
The competition for jobs has led college graduates to become obsessed about their “specs,” such as their foreign-language abilities, computer processing skills and internship experiences. These embattled students came to idolize Kim, the single person who seemed to have achieved the goal of landing a decent job without securing a growing list of specs.
Public fury ensued after it was revealed that Kim’s reputation was based on lies.
“He cheated the young and desperate to make money. That is the lowest level you can stoop to,” said one Twitter user.
“His specs were fake, success story was fake, and his book was fake. It’s passion that counts? No, it’s honesty that counts,” said another user.
By Yoon Min-sik
(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)
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