By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
Education authorities are investigating allegations that Indianhead International School (IIS) in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province illegally received about $1 million annually for its operations from the Shinheung College Foundation (See The Korea Times, April 6). The IIS is a legally independent institute from Shinheung.
Besides the illegal money transfer, the college foundation has been allegedly engaged in other irregularities, including providing buses to the international school and allowing it to use its buildings and land for free. Sources said the foreign school has been used as a vehicle to channel funds to a lawmaker for his own private interests.
``We've started an investigation into the allegations. It will take some time as we need to look into lots of financial papers, collected from the school,'' said an official from Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education.
Its results are expected to provide some clues to verify the accusation that Shinheung Foundation's Chairman Kang Sung-jong, also a lawmaker of the main opposition Democratic Party, used part of the illegally funneled money for his campaign for a seat in the National Assembly last year.
Rep. Kang lives in the IIS' high school building. He was elected in the parliamentary elections in 2004, and was once jailed for violating the Election Law.
Lee Sung-man, a spokesman for Shinheung admitted that the foundation has allowed the IIS to use the buses and land for free.
Following the emergence of the allegations surrounding the foreign school, IIS foundation's Chairman Park Jeong-jin, who is a Rep. Kang's brother-in-law, recently stepped down from the general-secretary position at the Shinheung Foundation, the spokesman said.
``Based on the audit results, IIS will reform its management. The foreign school might change its chairman,'' Lee said.
He also indicated that Shinheung might eventually take over control of the foreign school. Previously foreigners or foreign non-profit foundations were entitled to establish and run foreign schools, but a recent relaxation of the rules set the legal ground for local entities to run them.
Asked why Shinheung provided its property to the school, Lee said, ``I don't know why, maybe there was an unknown contract.'' He said the education ministry has not taken any steps to prevent such irregular practices between the foundation and the school.
The authorities will also investigate whether IIS violated the education law in the process of admitting students. The school's former and current staff have claimed that the school enrolled a number of unqualified students. ``We will look into nationalities and immigration records of the students,'' said an education office official.
Located on Shinheung College campus, the IIS has 152 students and 32 teachers, according to the ministry.