Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Milwaukiedave]

This could be interesting....

To the Citizens of Seoul,
I am not a citizen of your city, but I write you today out of urgency and dire concern for the future of your city’s education system.
My name is Candy Koh, once known as Hee Kyung Koh (고희경) during my residence in South Korea from the year 1991 to 1998. I am the first of two children between Yooah Park and Seung Duk Koh, a candidate for Seoul’s Superintendent of Education in the current elections. When his candidacy came to my attention recently, I could not, in good conscience, stay silent as his child. Seoul’s citizens deserve know the truth about the person they may be choosing to represent and be in charge of Seoul’s education system: Seung Duk Koh never partook in the education of his own children.
I was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1987 while my mother and Koh were still married. After my brother was born in New Jersey in 1991, we all moved to Korea. I have next to no memories of his being present to teach me or my brother anything, even when I was old enough to have such memories. When my mother brought me and my brother to the U.S. to send us to a school in New York, Koh stayed in Korea and also decided to stop contacting us altogether.
I was still only 11 years old when I had to get used to a life without a father. I missed out on Father’s Day every year. I hated it when people asked me where my father was or what he did and I eventually began to reply that I do not know, because he never told me. Despite the existence of a telephone and Internet, Koh never called me or my brother to ask how we were doing. Asking for a call or gifts on our birthday was not even in the scope of our imagination because he did not acknowledge his own children’s existence. Of course he never supported our education in any way, including financially.
Despite this, I was able to go through college and graduate school as one of the top students in my class. To better apply my interest in public service, I also plan to begin law school in the fall with a merit scholarship. I am proud that I have managed to achieve this much without my biological father. I could not have done it without my mother who single-handedly raised both her children or my maternal grandfather—my mother’s father—who provided me the psychological support of a father throughout my life until he passed.
Meanwhile as I grew up in the U.S., I saw through the Korean media that Koh would give lectures to children on how to study or how to “succeed.” I also saw that he spoke to parents on how best to educate their children. When I first saw the latter in the early 2000s, I became angry, as he did not educate his own children, but rather completely disregarded them. However, I was still a child, barely in my teens, and I was also living in the U.S. What could I do? I felt that I had no choice but to keep silent. Despite seeing the praises he received from many Koreans for his achievements and so-called brilliance, I kept silent because I didn’t think my voice mattered. I am also an American and perhaps felt I had no business engaging in dialogues particular to the Korean political scene. However, Seung Duk Koh’s running for the seat as Seoul’s Superintendent of Education is crossing the line. For me to keep silent here would be to deceive the citizens of Seoul.
As a child he neither educated nor rarely even spoke to, I must inform the citizens of Seoul that he does not qualify for this position. If the role of a superintendent of education is to look after the educational policies and systems of a city, Seung Duk Koh is a stranger to this role. How can he act as the leader of education for a city when he is unwilling to teach his own flesh and blood?
Education is one of the most important things in the world. It shapes people in whose hands the future lies—the future of your city, your nation, and the world. I, his own daughter, never received support from him for my own education. As a former citizen of Seoul still with many friends who reside there, I trust that you will make the right decision for the future of your city and choose a candidate better suited for the position: someone who truly cares about the Seoul’s education system and someone who begins by caring for those nearest to him, his own children.
Sincerely,
Candy Koh

https://www.facebook.com/kohrea/posts/644084657096?fref=nf

[Captain Corea]

I saw that on FB - wondered if it had been vetted at all.

Pretty telling of his character/priorities - if true.

[actionjackson]

My wife thinks the only reason he's running for that position is for higher political office later on. She doesn't understand what a lawyer knows about education. I don't know anything about the guy but she seems pretty fired up about it.

[Who's Your Daddy?]

I read it, sounds like a dick. But I don't think that dis-qualifies him for the job. He's not going to be a father in the role. Maybe the reason he doesn't take care of his family is he's a work-a-holic, and that might make him good at the role. There are plenty of assholes that can do a good job. e.g. Larry Ellison

[Stan Rogers]

Wether true or not, based upon the responses the writer has achieved her objective of running the man's name through the mud and getting people to think negatively of him.

I am dissappointed by how so many people are quick to believe something negative about a person without an ounce of proof.

[radcon]

The girl has extreme daddy issues. I likes it. Why did she write that Facebook post in English? Who is her audience?

[atwood]

[jvalmer]

It seems a little suspicious to me, just by looking at the name. 'Candy' as her name... How many American girls are really named 'Candy'?

If true I wonder if she was offered any money to do this? Also, is this in the mainstream Korean media? I haven't seen much in the Korean media about this. Just a bunch of twitter feeds.

[cabeza]

[Fox]

[optik404]

[cabeza]

[Died By Bear]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HR4n6OVoyYQ

[beentheredonethat777]

Koh under fire for custodial negligence

음성듣기

Koh Seung-duk, a candidate for superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, poses with his daughter Candy Koh, left and his son in this file photo posted on her Facebook, Saturday. Candy, 27, claims her father was an irresponsible parent. / Yonhap

Top Seoul education candidate refuses to drop out of race

By Yi Whan-woo

Koh Seung-duk, a candidate for superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said he would not drop out of race over smear allegations.

Koh, 56, faced allegations of custodial negligence.

During a news conference in Seoul, he said that he agreed with his ex-wife to divorce after they failed to narrow their differences over how their children should be raised.

"My ex-wife took our two children in 1998 after we had fights and said she would take care of them. This hurt me a lot at that time," he said.

"I was saddened because I lost my children to my ex-wife who is the daughter of a powerful and wealthy family."

His remarks were construed as meaning that an allegation his daughter made that he abandoned his children was baseless.

The news conference came days after a message from his daughter was posted on Facebook.

"I must inform the citizens of Seoul that he does not qualify for this position," his daughter, Candy Koh, 27, commented on her social media page, Saturday.

She was born in Seoul and moved to the United States after her parents divorced in 2002.

"I am also an American and perhaps felt I had no business engaging in dialogue particular to the Korean political scene. However, Seung Duk Koh's running for the seat as Seoul's Superintendent of Education is crossing the line. For me to keep silent here would be to deceive the citizens of Seoul."

In opinion polls, Koh has been the leading candidate for the past, thanks to high public high profile as a former lawmaker and lawyer.

He also currently serves as the head of Korea Youth Shelter Association that was set up in the nation's capital to consult with and help teenage runaways.

According to Candy Koh, she and her brother never received educational support from their father.

In an e-mail interview released by The Hankyoreh, Sunday, Candy Koh, added that she decided to disclose his father's past when she read about him explaining his son's dual citizenships of Korea and the United States.

Koh cried during the press conference, Friday, saying "Please leave my son alone."

"I wrote and revised the letter multiple times, wondering if I should do it. But when I finally saw articles on the Internet about his ‘crying over his son,' that made me decide I needed to send my letter out for everyone to see," the daughter wrote.

"Those tears were not for a son whom he willingly abandoned."

Koh had children while married to Park Yu-a, a daughter of Park Tae-joon, the founder of the country's largest steelmaker POSCO. Candy Koh denied rumors that she allegedly posted her comment under instruction by her mother's family to support Moon Yong-lin, another candidate for superintendent.

Koh leads Moon 25.6 percent to 16.4 percent in the latest poll conducted by Korea Gallup between May 19 and 21.

"I informed the relatives on my mother's side as I uploaded my letter that I was going to do this. I only later saw through a news site that my uncle had spoken to Mr. Moon. I assume this was because they have a prior acquaintance." she said.

"Once they saw my letter online, all the relatives on my mother's side expressed their full support for my actions."

However, she continued to say that each has their own political position so I cannot speak for any one person as a whole.

[email protected],


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Maybe a little truth to both sides.

[Milwaukiedave]