[쿠키 정치] 6·4 지방선거 서울시교육감 선거에서 무소속으로 출마한 고승덕(57) 후보의 딸 희경씨가 “아버지는 서울시교육감의 자격이 없다”며 가족사를 폭로했다. 고 후보는 “아픈 가족사”라는 말로 희경씨의 주장을 인정했다.

희경씨는 31일 필명 ‘고캔디’로 활동 중인 페이스북에 ‘서울시민에게(To the Citizens of Seoul)’라는 제목으로 장문의 호소문을 적었다. 희경씨는 고 후보와 전처 박모씨 사이의 1남1녀 가운데 장녀다. 현재 미국 뉴욕에서 거주 중인 것으로 알려졌다. ‘고캔디’ 페이스북에는 거주지가 뉴욕으로 표시돼 있다. 희경씨는 호소문을 영문으로 작성했다.

희경씨는 “나는 서울시민이 아니다. 하지만 서울시 교육의 미래를 걱정해 글을 썼다. 서울시민은 교육을 담당할 사람에 대한 진실을 접할 자격이 있다”며 “나의 부친인 고승덕은 자신의 아이들에 대한 교육에 전혀 관여하지 않았다. 어린시절부터 기억을 할 수 있는 나이로 자랄 때까지 아버지는 우리에게 어떤 것도 가르치지 않았다”고 주장했다.

또 “어머니가 자녀교육을 위해 나와 남동생을 뉴욕으로 데려왔을 때도 아버지는 한국에 있었다. 그리고 우리 모두와 연락을 끊었다. 나는 열한 살 때부터 아버지가 없는 환경에 적응했다. (미국의) ‘아버지의 날’ 행사도 모두 불참했다”고 덧붙였다. 고 후보는 2002년 박씨와 이혼했다.

희경씨는 “아버지는 자식에게 관심이 없었다. 전화나 생일선물은 상상도 할 수 없었다. 재정적인 부분부터 자녀교육까지 전혀 지원하지 않았다”며 “하지만 나는 우수한 성적으로 대학에 진학했다. 올 가을 장학금을 받고 로스쿨에 입학할 예정이다. 나는 생물학적인 아버지가 없는 상황에서 이런 성취를 이룬 점에 대해 자랑스럽게 생각한다”고 했다.

이어 “침묵을 지키는 것은 서울시민에 대한 기만이라는 생각으로 이런 사실을 밝힌다”며 “혈육인 자녀를 교육할 생각도 없었던 사람이 어떻게 한 도시의 교육을 책임지는 수장이 될 수 있겠는가. 교육은 세상에서 가장 중요한 부분 중 하나다. 여러분이 도시의 미래를 위해 더 합리적인 후보를 선택하길 바란다”고 했다.

희경씨의 호소문은 소셜네트워크서비스(SNS)를 타고 순식간에 확산됐다. 호소문을 작성한지 3시간 지난 오후 6시 현재 4000건 이상의 공유와 36건 이상의 추천을 받았다. 호소문의 댓글 게시판에는 지인으로 보이는 페이스북 친구의 위로와 격려가 적혀 있고 우리나라 네티즌의 의견도 줄을 이었다.

고 후보는 희경씨에 대해 박씨와 사이에서 얻은 장녀라는 사실을 인정했다. 고 후보는 “아픈 가족사를 자세하게 설명하긴 어렵지만 내 재혼으로 아이들이 받았을 마음의 상처를 아버지로서 평생 안고 살 수밖에 없다”며 “십여년 동안 청소년 활동과 봉사에 매진한 이유도 이 때문이었다”고 밝혔다. 고 후보는 선거사무소 관계자를 통해 서면으로 입장을 밝혔다. 직접 연락을 시도했으나 닿지는 않았다.

◇고희경씨 페이스북 호소문 전문

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. (끝)

국민일보 쿠키뉴스 김철오 조현우 기자 kcopd@kmib.co.kr