Parties clash over audit board’s conclusion on four-river project
A high-ranking audit official said Tuesday former President Lee Myung-bak was in part responsible for the problems associated with the Four-River Renovation Project. He said that Lee was partly behind it being conducted as a preparatory step for his “Grand Canal,” which allegedly led to budget waste, corruption and price fixing by contractors. “I think that former President Lee Myung-bak has a share of responsibility,” Board of Audit and Inspection Secretary General Kim Young-ho said in response to an opposition lawmaker’s question during a parliamentary audit. He also said the agency once looked into whether it would refer Lee to the prosecution in connection with the corruption-riddled project. But the BAI concluded that Lee should not be subject to criminal investigation. The Grand Canal was Lee’s key election pledge. It was scaled down into the Four-River Reclamation Project in the face of widespread opposition.
* high-ranking = 고위의, 고급의, 중요한/ in part = 부분적으로는; 어느 정도는/ associated with ~ = ~와 관련된/ preparatory = 준비(대비)를 위한/ allegedly = 주장한(전해진) 바에 의하면, 이른바/ price fixing = 가격 담합(고정)/ in response to ~ = ~에 응하여(답하여)/ in connection with ~ = ~와 관련되어/ be riddled with ~ = (특히 나쁜 것이) 가득하다(-투성이다)/ scale sth down = (크기, 규모를) 축소하다(줄이다)/ reclamation = 교정; 개간, 간척/ in the face of ~ = ~에 직면하여; ~에도 불구하고
