[EDITORIALS]Audit has hidden agenda

All Korean private schools will have their financial records audited by the Board of Audit and Inspection. The agency said it is carrying out the special inspection because the public has an increased interest in possible corruption among private schools. And yet their reasoning is not convincing. We wonder where the board has been all along.
If there are problems with certain private schools, then those investigations could be done separately. The board does not even have the capacity to execute such a large-scale audit, and the fact it has announced plans for one means the organization has a hidden agenda.
The intention may be that it wants to suppress those who oppose the private school reform law, in line with what the Blue House and the ruling Uri Party have in mind.
If the board finds any wrongdoing, the government will probably argue that the private school law is necessary. How can the board claim to be independent when it only follows the government’s intentions?
During this special audit, the board could target only strong opponents of the private school law. Such an abuse of power will threaten the board’s existence.
The government must not push the private school law this way. The resistance and mistrust from private schools will only worsen, putting our education sector into further confusion. The negotiations for amending the private school law must begin immediately.