[Opinion] Psychopaths

Serial killer Yoo Young-chul brutally murdered a human being and felt no guilt at all. He would just calmly commit his next murder. Psychologists refer to such owners of ‘broken hearts’ as psychopaths. Yoo Young-chul, who appears perfectly normal, was a psychopath in that he committed atrocious crimes but felt no guilt. A U.S. report says 90 percent of American serial killers are psychopaths. Industrial and organizational psychologist Paul Babiak, who co-authored “Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work,” says that, “Psychopaths do not only roam dark back alleys, they also exist among us, with normal white collar jobs.”

Psychopaths dressed up in suave suits are courteous, but are compulsive liars, thereby troubling others or the organizations they belong to. They have no genes related to morality, decency or shame in the first place, which is why they devise more lies when faced with disclosures of former lies, instead of being shamed by them. Their lies are of different spheres from those of normal people. They are ready to do whatever it takes in order to achieve their goals, and laws, rules and morality are luxuries that are to be heeded only when needed.

These people are not hesitant to manufacture education or qualifications, and even forge documents in case they are required to be produced. Among them, some have received a good education, with good looks and eloquent speech, combined with intellect and stately charms. Even corporate personnel workers mistake the qualities of a psychopath as those of leadership and hire these psychopaths. It seems even professionals among personnel selecting have a hard time sorting out the ‘vipers in suits.’

There was even a former curator who claimed innocence, and appealed that she was receiving false allegations, despite proofs of her false graduation. An investment guru with a qualified education and amazing earning rates proved to be a high-level charlatan, with an IQ of 160 (according to the Public Prosecutor’s Office). Professionals say we must heed the alarms raised by our rationality and value honesty and trust in order to avoid being misled by psychopaths. The fact that many people are willing to believe in charlatans instead of prosecutors signifies that our society is still vulnerable to the malice of psychopaths.

Huh Mun-myeong, Editorial Writer, angelhuh@donga.com