Yoon Suk-yeol and wife's prison deposits total 2.19 billion won — eight times the president's annual salary
Former President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife received a combined 2.19 billion won in prison deposits (money held by detention facilities for inmates to purchase goods) during roughly 14 months behind bars, according to figures revealed on Wednesday. That amounts to about eight times this year's presidential salary of 270 million won. Democratic Party Rep. Lee Sung-yun disclosed the figures during the Ministry of Justice audit by the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee.
Former President Yoon, held at Seoul Detention Center, received 1.95 billion won after being re-arrested on July 10 last year through the 9th of last month, while former first lady Kim Kun-hee, held at Seoul Southern Detention Center, received 240 million won after her arrest on August 12 last year through the same date. Under the Ministry of Justice's guidelines on managing held valuables, facilities can hold up to 4 million won per inmate, with any excess transferred to personal deposit accounts.
Rep. Lee pointed to problems in the withdrawal process. "The inflow itself is a problem, but corrections officers are being used like personal secretaries when it comes to processing withdrawals," he said. He added, "We've heard all along that corrections facilities are severely understaffed, that there aren't enough officers. This needs to be fixed."
The gift tax issue was also raised. "A review by National Assembly experts found considerable support for subjecting prison deposits to gift tax," Rep. Lee said, adding, "When we asked the National Tax Service, they said they couldn't notify us because it wasn't reported to them." He urged the Justice Ministry to "draw up plans to overhaul the system so that taxation can be implemented by the end of the comprehensive National Assembly audit."
Committee Chairwoman Seo Young-kyo challenged the practice surrounding prison deposits. "Once the deposit reaches 4 million won, why does a corrections headquarters employee withdraw it the next day and transfer it to a personal deposit account?" she asked. "Is that something the corrections headquarters should be doing? Why extend such courtesy? Stop it." She went on: "If 2 billion won comes in a year, and he's serving life in prison, he'll become a billionaire in the hundreds of billions of won." She then criticized: "Looking at the rankings of those receiving the most prison deposits, they're apparently insurrection offenders. YouTubers apparently read out their account numbers and tell people to send money. How can the world go so wrong?"
Acting Justice Minister Lee Jin-soo (Vice Justice Minister) voiced his commitment to improving the system. "For the welfare of inmates, we have transferred funds when the limit was exceeded, but there were no standards for the amount or frequency of transfers," he said. "We will actively review improvement measures."
On the gift tax question, a National Tax Service official said on Thursday, "In principle, prison deposits are subject to gift tax, but whether they fall under tax-exempt items recognized by common social standards and other specific facts must be examined before a determination is made." Discussions are expected to continue on establishing taxation standards and revamping the management of prison deposits.
