“Is Je-dong Kim a job interview at a public company? what do you know… ” Student Fury

A well-known domestic publishing company was met with criticism when it tried to run a counseling program for students preparing for employment in public companies, with broadcaster Je-dong Kim (47) as a mentor.

On the 10th, on the Naver cafe ‘Gong Jun-mo (a group of people preparing for public corporations)’, an article promoting the ‘Kim Je-dong’s LAN trouble counseling center’ was posted on the notice board. This event was a publication event for the book ‘The Moment When Questions Are Answered’, co-written by Je-Dong Kim with seven other authors, and the purpose was to hear and counsel students about their concerns through a zoom video lecture.

However, the cafe members objected. Members asked, “What does this person know about employment?” “What kind of expertise does a person who is not a HR manager or incumbent have to offer counseling for concerns?” If you are going to call it counseling, just don’t do it,” and “I will solve one more National Competency Standards (NCS) problem in that time,” raising the voice of criticism.

In a broadcast program in 2016, Kim Je-dong said, “Please don’t ask young people why they don’t get a job. Or create a society where people can find a job well after they turn 20.” JTBC broadcast screen capture

One member pointed out, “Where did Je-dong Kim, who cried out, ‘Do you create a society where employment is good!’” and “I wonder why the current government doesn’t say anything”. Previously, Kim Je-dong talked about the worries of job-seekers on a TV program in 2016 during the Park Geun-hye administration, saying, “Please don’t ask young people why they don’t get a job. If you turn 20, you create a society where you can get a job well.” In 2019, Je-dong Kim was embroiled in controversy when it was known that he received about 15 million won for one lecture at lectures and events of various local governments. At that time, Kim Je-dong explained that he had donated 100 million won of lecture fees to the Chosun Ilbo School Upgrade Campaign and his alma mater. The cafe operator said, “This is not an advertisement, it is an event that is held for multiple reasons. . ‘Gong Jun-mo’ is a neutral community that does not lean on either ideology. (The event) ends with one session, and there is no second one.”

Correspondent Kim So-young, Donga.com sykim41@donga.com