The Ministry of Justice released footage of a solitary cell at Seoul Detention Center to counter allegations of preferential treatment surrounding former President Yoon Suk-yeol's confinement. It used video to explain the actual living space amid some claims that he was "using three rooms."
On the 10th, the Ministry of Justice posted a 2-minute, 14-second video titled "The room at Seoul Detention Center where a former president is incarcerated, first reveal" on its official YouTube channel, "Law TV."
The solitary cell shown in the video measures 6.76㎡, a little over 2 pyeong, with an attached toilet. It is just wide enough for one adult man to barely lie down, and even shoes are difficult to keep inside, so they are stored on the upper shelf outside the steel door.
Inside were one fan, a small shelf for personal items, a notice of basic rules for inmates, a calendar, and a TV. The video also demonstrated an inmate making a temporary shelf out of thick cardboard, placing a plastic rack and a meal tray on top to eat.
In the video, the Ministry of Justice said, "Those managed under classifications based not only on health reasons or lifestyle but also on set criteria are housed here," adding, "Each solitary cell is managed independently, and inmates are not allowed to enter other rooms at will."
It went on, "Whoever causes a stir in the world is no exception behind the steel door," emphasizing, "What runs this place is not favors but principles."
Earlier, some YouTubers alleged that the former president was freely using multiple rooms with the doors of three solitary cells left open. Claims also surfaced that a cleaner in the housing unit was exclusively assisting the former president, and that inmates' staple and side dishes had significantly improved after his confinement.
In response, on the 26th, the Ministry of Justice said, "The former president is using only one solitary cell identical to a general inmate room, and there is no dedicated cleaner."
The Ministry of Justice has also moved to improve the system amid controversy over preferential treatment for attorney visits for the former president and others. According to the ministry's online civil service platform, a limit on concurrent-time reservations for general attorney visits took effect from 9 a.m. the previous day.
Previously, reservations for attorney visits were effectively unrestricted, but going forward, the number of reservations in the same time slot will be limited in 30-minute blocks depending on each prison and detention center's conditions. At Seoul Detention Center, where the former president is incarcerated, the number of attorney visit reservations allowed in the same time slot has reportedly been capped at three.
Earlier, the former president was said to have had a total of 538 visits during the 319 days of the first and second detention periods. That averaged 1.7 per day, prompting criticism that it infringed on other inmates' visitation rights.
Minister Jung Sung-ho of the Ministry of Justice said during the "Monthly Work Meeting," livestreamed on YouTube on Apr. 4, "A defendant's right to meet with counsel should be guaranteed to the fullest, but doing it all day is a problem."
He added, "The former president occupies one room all day and keeps changing lawyers to continue visits, so others are harmed," directing the Korea Correctional Service to draw up measures to improve the system.