Jailed ex-South Korea president Yoon received over $1 million in inmate funds: Data

SEOUL – Jailed former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol received more than 1.2 billion won (S$1.02 million) in inmate funds during roughly eight months of detention, local media reported, citing Justice Ministry data.

According to Dong-A Ilbo, Yoon received a total of 1.24 billion won between July 10, 2025, and March 9 while being held at the Seoul Detention Center. The money was sent in 27,410 separate deposits – the highest amount recorded among inmates at the facility during that period.

Yoon was taken into custody on July 10, 2025, for a second time following his earlier release in March.

The total amount he received is about 4.6 times the annual presidential salary for 2025, which stood at 271.77 million won. Most of the funds – about 1.23 billion won – were withdrawn from his account in more than 350 transactions, averaging about 1.4 withdrawals per day.

In South Korea, inmates can receive money from outside to use for daily necessities such as food and toiletries. However, they are allowed to only keep up to four million won in their account at any given time. Any amount above that limit must either be held until release or transferred to a personal bank account upon request.

Because there is no cap on how much money can be sent or how often deposits and withdrawals can be made, it is possible to repeatedly move funds in and out of the account, as long as the balance stays below the four million won limit.

The ministry data, which was obtained by Representative Park Eun-jung of the Rebuilding Korea Party, also showed that Yoon’s wife, Kim Keon Hee, who has been held at the Seoul Southern Detention Center since Aug 12, received 93.05 million won over the same period through 4,554 transactions.

This was the second-largest amount among inmates at the facility. She withdrew 89.69 million won in 56 transactions. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK