Chun's family hit for 'noble labor' in prison
By Chung Hyun-chae
Lee Chang-seok
Lee Chang-seok, 65, brother-in-law of former President Chun Doo-hwan, has come under criticism for not paying fines for tax evasion and choosing to labor in a penitentiary instead.
The public was shocked to hear that Lee will be freed from confinement after completing a maximum three years of labor in order to pay off his fines of 3.4 billion won.
The fines are part of the 4 billion won which was slapped on Lee as punishment for tax evasion in August 2015. He has so far made cash payments of only 579 million won.
This means that his daily labor is valued at 4 million won ($3,588). People say the sum is astronomically huge compared with 100,000 won for most laborers serving time in prison.
Lee’s case followed Chun Jae-yong, 51, the second son of former President Chun Doo-hwan, who is also paying the same amount of fines for similar reasons through prison labor at another penitentiary.
According to the Ministry of Justice and the Korea Correctional Service, Sunday, Lee has already paid off 200 million won in fines after 50 days of prison labor.
Chun has reportedly been cleaning a ditch and cutting grass at a prison in Wonju, Gangwon Province. Lee has been manufacturing electric heating appliances at another prison in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, seven to eight hours a day.
This kind of “noble labor” has been a common practice for the privileged class who try to avoid paying fines.
Under the current law, a prisoner confined in a penitentiary cannot work more than three years no matter the amount of fines. He or she does not work on weekends or national holidays.
The controversy is lingering over the monetary penalty system in which fine defaulters abuse legal loopholes.
The number of prisoners who are working while being paid more than 4 million won per day is estimated at 30 across the nation.
The number of those who have worked for more than 100 million won per day since 2011 is estimated at about 20.
The fines imposed on Chun and Lee were part of government efforts to confiscate the fortune of the former President who was convicted of treason for taking power through a military coup after the 1979 assassination of then-President Park Chung-hee. He was also found guilty of amassing illegal political funds while in office in the 1980s.