Kim Keonhee Deposited 500,000 Won
Ministry of Justice: "External Transfers Allowed with Warden's Approval"
Former President Yoon Suk-yeol is entering the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of July 9 to attend a pretrial detention hearing. Photo by Joint Press Corps
It has been revealed that since former President Yoon Suk-yeol was detained at the Seoul Detention Center in July, approximately 300 million won has been deposited into his prison account.
According to the "Former President Yoon Suk-yeol Deposit Withdrawal Records" obtained by Assemblywoman Park Eun-jung's office of the Korea Innovation Party on September 1, former President Yoon withdrew a total of 307 million won from July 15 to August 29. On July 15 and 16, he requested that 3 million won each be transferred to his personal account, and it is reported that the remaining 77 withdrawals were all used for attorney fees, medical expenses, and similar purposes.
The deposit records reportedly include supportive messages such as "Thank you for enlightening us" and "Stay healthy," as well as sarcastic remarks like "Good job in prison."
By principle, if a prisoner's personal account balance exceeds 4 million won, the excess is either paid out upon release or transferred directly to the prisoner's personal account. Former President Yoon withdrew funds to his personal account about 80 times.
According to MBC, an official from the Ministry of Justice explained, "If approved by the head of the detention center, external transfers of prison deposits are permitted," and added, "This policy applies equally to all inmates and is not a special privilege."
Meanwhile, it has been reported that former President Yoon's wife, Kim Keon-hee, and his mother-in-law, Choi Eun-soon, deposited 500,000 won and 1 million won, respectively, into his prison account when he was arrested and detained by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials in January.
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