Due to the wildfire that has been spreading for six days, the North Gyeongsang Province Northern Second Prison, located in Jinbo-myeon, Cheongsong County, moved 500 inmates to another location. Last year, the Ministry of Justice designated this facility as a "serious crime exclusive facility" and transferred 20 serious offenders, including Jeon Ju-hwan, the perpetrator of the Sindang Station stalking murder case, to this prison.
The North Gyeongsang Province Northern Second Prison was formerly known as Cheongsong Prison. It is the only maximum-security prison in the country. Out of more than 800 total cells, over 700 are solitary cells. Inmates must spend the rest of their time in solitary confinement except for one hour of exercise each day. The cells are monitored by CCTV 24 hours a day.
The North Gyeongsang Province Northern Second Prison is also referred to as Korea's Alcatraz. Alcatraz Prison is located on Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay in the United States, famous for being an "impossible prison to escape from." The area where the North Gyeongsang Province Northern Second Prison is located in Cheongsong County, North Gyeongsang Province, is surrounded by over ten mountains, including Juwangsan, Taebaeksan, and Bohyeonsan, and is also known as an "island within a mainland."
It is similar to Alcatraz in that notorious criminals who have made headlines in South Korea have passed through or are currently incarcerated there. Notorious figures such as organized crime leader Kim Tae-chon, Jo Yang-eun, escaped convict Shin Chang-won, sex crime murderer Kim Gil-tae, sex offender Jo Doo-soon, and dismemberment murderer Oh Won-chun have all been imprisoned there.