Chadwick International School Songdo. [Photo=Yonhap News]

The acting director of the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority, Deputy Director Hong Jun-ho, and his family have been reported to the police on bribery charges.

The civic group, the Committee for the Countermeasures of the Poor and the Livelihood (Seominwi, Secretary-General Kim Soon-hwan), announced on the 28th that it had reported Deputy Director Hong and his wife to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on charges of bribery.

In its complaint, Seominwi stated, "Deputy Director Hong holds a position to exercise administrative and policy authority related to foreign schools and international educational facilities. Nevertheless, his child is attending Chadwick International School Songdo, where tuition fees amount to tens of millions of won annually, and received significant tuition reductions," adding, "This constitutes economic benefits that significantly exceed the scope permissible by social norms."

Chadwick, located in Songdo International City within the Incheon Free Economic Zone, has significantly higher tuition fees than other educational institutions but is famous for its differentiated curriculum, attracting children of prominent figures in Korean politics and business, as well as celebrities. The school has 1,450 students.

Seominwi further stated, "Given that Deputy Director Hong has the authority to exercise administrative power related to Chadwick, the possibility that the (tuition reduction benefits) were provided due to his official duties cannot be ruled out, falling under bribery charges."

They added that they filed the complaint out of concern that it could cause shame not only to the diligent students and parents of foreign schools in Songdo but also to the public, and that it would become a touchstone that breaks trust in the rule of law of liberal democracy.

Deputy Director Hong previously worked for Incheon City before moving to the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority on the 2nd of this month. His wife, Ms. A, has been working as an Associate Head of External Relations and Development at Chadwick since August of last year.

It is reported that Ms. A not only receives a seven-figure annual salary but also support for approximately half of the tuition fees for her two children, amounting to 40 to 50 million won per year per child.

Seominwi donation account: Post Office 010108-01-014472

Account Holder: Committee for the Countermeasures of the Poor and the Livelihood

By Reporter Lim Yo-hee