Park given favors in prison

Former President Park Geun-hye is seen in a vehicle taking her to the Seoul Detention Center, after the Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant for her on charges including bribery, March 31. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

By Kim Rahn

Former President Park Geun-hye spent her first two nights in prison not in an inmate cell but in the correctional officers’ night-duty room, because her cell was being “remodeled.”

People have criticized the fact that she still enjoys privileges even though she was removed from office because of a massive corruption scandal, with critics saying the correctional authority’s special treatment is a clear violation of the law.

According to legal sources, Friday, Park arrived at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, at 4:45 a.m. on March 31 after a local court issued an arrest warrant.

After a simple health check and changing into a prison uniform, she was supposed to be put in the 10-square-meter simple cell, but she slept in the night-duty room for two days while her cell was being “upgraded.”

According to the law, inmates at the detention center stay in simple cells, but they be put with other inmates in a larger room when no single cells are available, or in other special circumstances.

“There can’t be an exception even for Park or her confidant Choi Soon-sil,” a local daily quoted a former detention center head as saying. “All inmates should sleep in cells, and staying in the night-duty room is a serious violation of the rules.”

He said that if there was a problem with an inmate’s cell, they should be moved to another single cell or to a larger room for multiple inmates.

While it was reported initially that Park refused to enter the cell saying the room was dirty and demanding new wallpaper, detention center officials said they needed to remodel the cell to prevent her from meeting other inmates and to set up necessary security systems.

“We needed to keep her separately from other inmates due to security for the former president,” an official said. “We thought it was improper to put her in a large room with other inmates, so we temporarily provided the night-duty room.”

He added that Park did not demand new wallpaper, but officials decided to hang it because the cell had not undergone maintenance work since 2013.

Critics say it is wrong to provide special conditions for Park, who caused considerable trouble through unprecedented large-scale corruption and who still denies all allegations even after her impeachment.

“It is ridiculous that this person, who has received privileges her whole life, enjoys privileges even in prison,” said an internet user, named wan****. ”The correctional authority officials should be punished as well for providing favors that are illegal.”