A senior Incheon city official and his spouse, who were reported on allegations of bribery after receiving discounts on their children's international school tuition totaling tens of millions of won annually, have been cleared by police, with the case decided against forwarding for prosecution.

The Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency's Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Unit announced today (July 28) that it decided not to forward the case against Hong Jun-ho, head of the Citizens' Safety Headquarters at Incheon City, and his spouse, identified as A, citing a lack of charges.

The police conducted an investigation lasting over six months after the civic group Citizens' Livelihood Measures Committee filed a complaint against Hong and his spouse in January on charges including bribery, ultimately determining that the allegations were unsubstantiated.

Previously, the civic group claimed that Hong and his spouse effectively received bribes by having about half of the tuition for their two children—which amounts to 40 million to 50 million won per person annually at Chadwick International School—waived or supported.

However, Chadwick officials and Hong's spouse reportedly explained during police questioning that the tuition discounts were standard benefits universally applied to employees, asserting there was no quid pro quo.

Spouse A served as the vice principal of external affairs and advancement at Chadwick International School—an educational institution under the jurisdiction of the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) Authority—starting in August of last year. Meanwhile, her husband Hong served as the acting commissioner (deputy commissioner) of the IFEZ from January to February this year, which had sparked controversy over potential conflicts of interest.

Although spouse A also operated a marketing firm and secured dozens of social media promotion contracts from the IFEZ and local district governments in the Incheon area since 2016, those matters were not included in the police investigation.

The police stated, "After receiving the complaint regarding bribery charges, we investigated for over half a year, but were unable to confirm any criminal intent or activities."

(Photo provided by Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency, Yonhap News)