Former President Yoon Suk-yeol received more than 1.2 billion won in commissary funds during the past eight months in detention at the Seoul Detention Center. The money appears to have been deposited mainly by supporters.
A person familiar with detention center affairs said, "Among inmates, the former president is considered a 'beomteol.'" Beomteol is prison slang referring to chaebol figures, politicians, or influential inmates who have ample commissary funds and therefore enjoy relatively comfortable confinement.
According to deposit records for custodial funds (commissary funds) submitted by the Ministry of Justice to Park Eun-jung, a lawmaker of the Rebuilding Korea Party on The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, on Mar. 5, the former president received 1,240,28,000 won in commissary funds over eight months after being rearrested on July 10 last year. That amounts to about 4.6 times this year's presidential salary.
There were 27,410 deposits, and withdrawals totaled 1,232,000,000 won, with 350 transactions recorded. Former first lady Kim Keon-hee is also said to have received about 93.05 million won over seven months after being detained and withdrawn roughly 90 million won. The aggregates of commissary funds the couple received is about 1.33 billion won.
Commissary funds are money that prison and detention center inmates use to purchase daily necessities and snacks. At detention centers, up to 20,000 won can be used per day, and additional deposits are restricted if the account balance exceeds 4 million won. However, because any excess can be used as property after release, some note it could become a form of political contribution or an asset accumulation tool. The following is a Q&A summary of key points related to the former president and his spouse's commissary funds.
─How are commissary funds managed?
"Every inmate is given one commissary account upon admission. Correctional facilities keep up to 4 million won per inmate in commissary funds. If it exceeds that, the excess is transferred to an account opened in the inmate's own name or paid out upon release. Unlike political funds, commissary funds have no limits on the amount or number of deposits."
─What can be purchased with commissary funds?
"According to the Ministry of Justice guidelines on managing custodial property, inmates can buy side dishes, snacks, and beverages. They can purchase four types of coffee, including milk coffee and decaf coffee, and three types of tea. Plastic hair accessories can also be purchased. Color cosmetics are not allowed, but lotion, toner, and body lotion can be bought. Because men's and women's items differ, as of January this year at the Seoul Detention Center, men can buy 141 items and women 148 items."
─How much do items sold inside the detention center cost when bought with commissary funds?
"A sausage side dish is 1,450 won, and stir-fried anchovies are 2,010 won. Bread is 980 won, milk coffee is 3,240 won, sterilized milk is 590 won, and cola is 970 won. Toner and lotion are 10,230 won each. Body lotion is 4,510 won. The most expensive item is a sleeping bag at 46,350 won. Next are a winter blanket (microfiber, 39,140 won) and a summer quilt (Type A, 25,750 won)."
─How did the former president receive 1.2 billion won?
"It appears supporters of the former president sent it. Previously, attorney Kim Gye-ri, the former president's lawyer, and Jeon Han-gil, a former Korean history instructor, shared the former president's commissary account number on social media and encouraged donations."
─What are commissary funds used for?
"Most reportedly go toward legal fees and medical expenses. The maintenance fees for the couple's former residence, the Acro Vista apartment in Seocho-gu, Seoul, are said to be covered by Kim's commissary funds."
An attorney for the former president said, "Most of the commissary funds are used for legal fees, and there is somewhat of a shortfall. Some are also used for medical expenses."
─Why were there 350 withdrawals?
"Likely because once the commissary account balance exceeds 4 million won, no further external deposits can be made. To receive additional deposits, funds must be continually withdrawn to a personal account. If an inmate submits an application, the correctional authorities process the withdrawal. For example, withdrawing 3 million won 350 times would allow 1.05 billion won to be withdrawn."
─Can commissary funds be used to buy a home?
"Yes. Correctional authorities only manage the commissary account subject to the 4 million won cap, and they cannot check or manage details such as usage or withdrawals for funds an inmate transfers to a personal account."
─What about other politicians?
"Former President Park Geun-hye was known to have purchased plastic claw clips and hairpins with commissary funds when she was imprisoned in 2017. Cho Kuk, leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party, ran a coffee truck using commissary funds in January last year while at the Seoul Detention Center to hand out coffee to participants in the 'Yoon Suk-yeol resignation rally.'"
─Can commissary funds be seized?
"Up to 1.5 million won of an inmate's commissary funds can be seized while in a detention center or prison. That excludes the 2.5 million won minimum living expense from the 4 million won cap. In civil cases, one can apply to the court for a provisional attachment and collection order based on a final judgment, and because commissary funds are held by correctional facilities, Korea becomes a third-party debtor. In criminal cases, commissary funds are also subject to collection for fines or forfeitures."
─Are taxes owed on received commissary funds?
"Commissary funds are taxable if they exceed 500,000 won. Under current law, amounts under 500,000 won given without consideration by a third party with no duty of support are exempt from gift tax. In practice, however, it is difficult for the National Tax Service to collect taxes. To levy taxes on commissary funds, detailed remittance records are needed, but tax authorities reportedly face limits in gathering inmates' personal records. The National Tax Service explained that under current law it has no basis to collect such records en masse from correctional facilities."
A recipient of a gift must submit a gift tax return to the district tax office within three months from the end of the month in which the gift date falls. A simple calculation puts the gift tax on the former president's 1.2 billion won in commissary funds at 320 million won. However, because supporters with no relation to the former president each owe gift tax on the amounts they deposited, the actual gift tax could be much lower. An attorney for the former president, when asked whether gift tax was reported and paid, answered to the effect of "not sure."