1. A device for correcting a pattern image by use of an inspection reference pattern image of a workpiece being tested and a pattern image under test, said device comprising: a correction region designation unit operative to designate a correction region including a pattern and its nearby portion within each of the reference pattern image and the pattern image under test; an equation generation unit operative to generate by linear predictive modeling a set of simultaneous equations for a reference pattern image within the correction region and an under-test pattern image within the correction region; a parameter generation unit operative to solve the equations to thereby obtain a model parameter; and a corrected pattern image generation unit operative to use the model parameter to apply the linear predictive modeling to the reference pattern image to thereby generate a corrected pattern image.