Former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is being held at the Seoul Detention Center, has received more than 657.25 million won in commissary funds over the past roughly 100 days. Some say the commissary system is effectively being used as a channel for personal donations, but note that legal restrictions remain weak.
According to materials titled "Top 10 inmate custodial funds" submitted by the Ministry of Justice to lawmaker Park Eun-jeong of the Rebuilding Korea Party, a member of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, and to a Yonhap News report on the 9th, the former president ranked No. 1 in commissary funds received at the Seoul Detention Center.
From July 10 to Oct. 26, over 109 days, the former president received a total of 657.25 million won in commissary funds. That is about 2.5 times this year's presidential salary (262.58 million won) and exceeds the political donations a lawmaker can raise over four years (up to 600 million won).
The number of deposits of commissary funds to the former president totaled 12,794, averaging around 100 a day. He is said to have withdrawn 651.66 million won of that amount in 180 transactions. Inmates at correctional facilities may not hold more than 4 million won in commissary funds at any time.
The former president's wife, Kim Keon-hee, is also said to have received about 22.5 million won in commissary funds over two months after being confined at the Southern Detention Center on Aug. 12. Kim withdrew about 18.56 million won of that amount.
Some contend that commissary funds are being abused as a "donation fundraising channel." Under current law, the amount an individual can contribute as political funds may not exceed 20 million won per year. For presidential candidates, the cap is 10 million won, and for lawmakers and central party organizations, 5 million won each. Donations of 3 million won or more per year must be disclosed with the amount and the donor's identity.
By contrast, commissary funds face no limits on the amount or frequency of deposits and withdrawals as long as the account balance stays at or below 4 million won. There are also no taxation or reporting requirements, drawing criticism as a "blind spot."
In the National Assembly, a bill to amend the Inheritance Tax and Gift Tax Act is pending that would allow the National Tax Service commissioner to request commissary fund data from correctional facilities.