Audit agency under fire for critical 4-river report

Rep. Hong Young-pyo, center, of the main opposition Democratic United Party claimed Sunday during a meeting with senior party members in the National Assembly that the government overspent to execute the controversial four-river restoration project. / Yonhap

By Kang Hyun-kyung

The Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) came under fire Sunday for flip-flopping its position on outgoing President Lee Myung-bak’s signature project allegedly to save face as President-elect Park Geun-hye is to take office in a month.

Two years ago, the BAI said the four-river project was a success and posed no harm to water quality in the rivers. Recently, however, it shifted its position on the project, saying its investigation results showed water quality has been seriously worsened and the overall construction of dams was substandard.

In an interview, Professor Park Chang-geun of Kwandong University criticized the BAI for politicizing the probe. “The four-river project was an unprecedented one given the massive state budget spent on it. The BAI was supposed to conduct a thorough investigation about the feasibility and progress from the start, but it didn’t,” he said.

The agency said the announcement of the probe results was not politically motivated, noting that the 2011 report was based on documents while the recent one followed on-site inspections.

Regarding the allegation on the timing, the agency said it revealed the results as soon as possible.

The BAI announced Thursday that the four-river project was poorly executed and voiced concern that it would require the next government to spend a large amount of money to fix all the problems.

It said the 22 trillion won project was poorly executed and as a result the water quality of the four rivers, the Han, Nakdong, Geum and Youngsan, may have been worsened.

The announcement came nearly one month before President Lee is to leave office, stirring speculation that the agency chose the timing as the outgoing president will lose his influence as the new president takes office soon.

Lee pushed for the project, despite protests from environmentalists and opposition politicians who were concerned about the negative fallout of the massive development plan on the ecosystem of neighboring areas.

He said once it was finished, the water quality would be improved, damage from floods and droughts would be significantly reduced and local economies would benefit from a surge of tourists,

The BAI launched the first investigation of the river basin project in 2010 as allegations of corruption and concerns on water quality degradation were reported to the government. Unveiling its results in January 2011, it concluded that the program was well executed and safely managed.

The four-river project, meanwhile, became a political football in the National Assembly.

On Sunday, Rep. Park Ki-choon, floor leader of the main opposition Democratic United Party, called for a parliamentary inspection and the bringing of those responsible for any malfeasance to justice.

Park said a total of 30 trillion won, including nearly 8 trillion won from local governments, was spent on the massive development project, urging the ruling Saenuri Party to join it in calling for a special prosecutor to investigate the case thoroughly. The ruling party has yet to respond.