“Yoon Suk Yeol, prison guards withdraw 4 million won twice a day” ... He carefully amassed 1.9 billion won in inmate funds

[Financial News] Former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, received a total of 2.19 billion won in inmate funds, it has emerged. That is eight times this year’s presidential salary of more than 270 million won.

According to Yonhap News on the 10th, Lee Seong-yun, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, disclosed the total amount of inmate funds received by the former president and his wife during the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee’s audit of the Ministry of Justice on the 8th.
From his rearrest on July 10 last year through the 9th of last month, the former president received about 1.95 billion won in inmate funds. Kim received around 240 million won since her arrest on August 12 last year.
Lee criticized the situation, saying, “It’s a problem that these (inmate funds) are coming in, but prison guards are being used almost like personal assistants to handle the withdrawals.”
He continued, “When I checked, (the withdrawal procedure) was complicated. It takes three steps,” adding, “Didn’t we hear all day today (at the audit) that correctional facilities are severely short of prison guards and staff? I think this needs to be improved.”
Lee also said, “Many people think gift tax should be levied on (the inmate funds),” and urged, “I asked the National Tax Service, and they said it was because they weren’t notified. Please let us know how they could be taxed by the end of the comprehensive audit.”
A National Tax Service official explained, “In principle, inmate funds are also subject to gift tax, but whether they qualify as tax-exempt gifts accepted under social norms is a matter to be determined after verifying the specific facts.”
Seo Young-kyo, a Democratic Party lawmaker who chairs the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, criticized the policy under the Ministry of Justice’s “Guidelines for the Management of Deposited Funds and Valuables”: correctional facilities can hold only 4 million won per inmate, with the rest transferred to the inmate’s personal deposit account.

The former president withdrew inmate funds 586 times during his detention, an average of 1.92 times per weekday. The total withdrawn was 1,939,540,000 won.

Seo said, “The Correctional Service is withdrawing (the inmate funds) for him—why be so accommodating?” She added, “If 2 billion won comes in each year, he’ll become a tycoon with a fortune in the 100-billion-won range, since he’s serving a life sentence.”
Amid the controversy, Lee Jin-su, acting justice minister and vice minister of justice, said, “There are concerns that excessive deposits do not accord with the original purpose of inmate funds, and many people have been pointing out the problem. We will actively consider ways to improve the system.”

[email protected] An Gaeul Reporter