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Hong resigned six years ago back in December 2008. Having already served eight years as president, Hong had one year and two months left in his second term when he suddenly decided to resign instead. Although at the time, Inha University stated that Hong was leaving for personal reasons, on December 16, Inha University representatives claimed that Hong had left after having a public argument with Cho, who was a director at the school.

At the time of the incident, the university was looking to recruit a new professor. The board of directors drew up a list of candidates, but Cho had a problem with their selection method.

According to one Inha University representative, "Back then, Director Cho threw documents at former President Hong and used vulgar language, which made former President Hong very angry." They continued, "I believe that [Hong] felt very insulted and resigned because [Cho] cursed at him when she was [only] a director and he was old enough to be Cho's father."

The same representative continued to say that Cho's father Cho Yang Ho personally apologized to the former president and asked him to excuse his daughter's behavior. They said, "Although Director Cho's father Chairman Cho Yang Ho sought former President Hong and apologized, saying, 'She's a child, please understand,' it doesn't seem like the situation was handled well back then."

It was also revealed that Cho Yang Ho, who is the chairman of Hanjin Group, a conglomerate that includes a shipping company and Korean Air, previously worked with Hong when the former president worked as a vice minister of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. Some people speculate that Hong may have chose not to retaliate against Cho and instead resigned because he was friends with Cho Yang Ho.

Another source confirmed that Hong and Heather Cho had a bad working relationship as an Inha University professor stated, "Back then, there were a lot of rumors among the board of directors about how the former President Hong and the relationship between the former President Hong and Director Cho, who could be his daughter at her age, was troubled."

The university itself has denied these claims as another representative has commented, "It makes no common sense that she would behave this way to him because not only was he her father's friend at the time but also he was the president." �

In other news, Hong is currently a president at Duksung's Women's University. As for Inha University, it was recently combined with Jeongsuk University this past August. Cho Yang Ho; his son and Korean Air vice president,�Cho Won Tae;�and his daughter, Heather Cho, are all registered as directors of the school.