Korea - Double Standards in the War on Private Schools

The government has managed to avert an unprecedented boycott of new enrolment by private schools over its controversial Private School Law revision, and perhaps emboldened by that success it is now going for the kill. Although the private schools yielded to government pressure, the government and ruling party on Monday confirmed they are launching a mass audit of private school foundations anyway. There was plenty of tough talk bandied about at the meeting, of "firm countering," "firm and strict measures" and "punishing one to warn a hundred others."

When the private schools pulled out an unexpectedly strong card with their threat to stop admitting students the government allocates them, the situation looked so brittle that no one could predict what would happen next. But the ensuing battle simply proved that no amount of foresight in such a situation can compete with the seasoned tacticians of the "struggles" at the core of this administration. And yet, some feel that the ruling Uri Party has gone too far by asking for religious school foundations to be exempt from the audit.

There can be only two reasons for the step. One is to separate the ranks of those struggling against the private school reform into ordinary private schools and religious ones. That is what the protestant churches feel, having become the unwilling object of the government’s consideration. They say the request betrays an ulterior motive to split the opposition movement. Still, the schemers in the administration may judge that a divide-and-conquer strategy will work in the long run.

The other possible reason is a political calculation based on the weight religious organizations carry among the electorate, in short, a fear for votes. The ruling party expects no serious damage to its support from making some private schools involved in corruption an enemy by pouncing on their irregularities: part of the public will welcome it. But religious groups, with their strong coherence, could do serious damage if it made an enemy of them. Whatever the truth of the matter, both reasons are equally contemptible.

Of course corruption exists in private schools. All citizens are indignant whenever egregious misdeeds are reported. But such irregularities must be routinely ferreted out and punished by our institutions and the law. They cannot be a matter for those in power to punish or condone at whim depending on whether some schools fall out of favor or others are seen to be useful. If they are, what is the difference between this administration with its constant harping on justice and the previous governments it never misses an opportunity to condemn?

http://english.chosun.com/ The Chosun Ilbo