Yoon's Stay at Seoul Detention Center: An Unprecedented 'Gathering of Notorious Criminals'... Who's There?

Cho Kuk, Yoo Ah-in, Kim Ho-joong, Kang Ho-soon, Yoo Young-chul, and Others
Former Presidents Roh Tae-woo and Park Geun-hye Also Served Time Here

As an arrest warrant has been issued for President Yoon Suk-yeol, attention is also focused on other notable figures currently detained and serving sentences at Seoul Detention Center, where President Yoon will be held.

Seoul Detention Center generally houses suspects involved in cases under the jurisdiction of the Seoul High Court and District Court. Therefore, this facility has historically been the main site for major corruption investigations conducted by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Anti-Corruption Division (formerly the Special Investigation Division) and the now-defunct Supreme Prosecutors' Office Central Investigation Division. Politicians, high-ranking officials, and business magnates who have been investigated by these bodies typically pass through here, leading to the center being nicknamed a 'Beomteol (a slang term referring to inmates who are wealthy or hold high social status) gathering place,' according to a report by Yonhap News on the 19th.

On the afternoon of the 19th, police were on duty in front of the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang-si, Gyeonggi-do, where President Yoon is being held in custody. Photo by Yonhap News.

The most prominent individual currently serving a sentence at Seoul Detention Center is former leader of the Justice Party, Cho Kuk. Former leader Cho was sentenced to two years in prison by the Supreme Court for forgery of official documents and obstruction of business related to his children's school admission fraud, and has been serving his sentence here since the 16th of last month.

President Yoon and former leader Cho are known to have a long-standing 'political rivalry.' With both Cho and President Yoon now staying at Seoul Detention Center, there has been public interest in whether the two might encounter each other within the facility. However, considering that convicted prisoners with finalized sentences and detainees awaiting trial are housed in separate areas within the detention center, and that President Yoon, as the sitting president, will be segregated from other inmates for security reasons, the likelihood of the two crossing paths inside the prison is considered very low.

After the first arrest warrant execution attempt by the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (HOCI) against President Yoon failed, former leader Cho wrote in a letter from prison, "I was expecting to meet Yoon (President Yoon Suk-yeol) at Seoul Detention Center, but it was canceled."

On the afternoon of the 19th, supporters of President Yoon shouted slogans in front of the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang-si, Gyeonggi-do, where President Yoon is being held in custody. Photo by Yonhap News

Among entertainers, Yoo Ah-in is currently detained here after being sentenced to four years in prison on appeal for habitual drug use. Singer Kim Ho-joong, who is on trial for hit-and-run while driving under the influence, was sentenced to two years and six months in prison and is awaiting appeal trial while serving time here. Additionally, Seoul Detention Center has an execution chamber, and death row inmates such as Kang Ho-soon, Yoo Young-chul, Jung Doo-young, and Jung Hyung-gu are also held here.

Among former presidents, Roh Tae-woo and Park Geun-hye have been held here. Former President Roh was detained here in 1995 on charges of receiving bribes totaling 235.9 billion won from 30 businesspeople. Former President Park served her sentence here in 2017 following the state affairs manipulation scandal.

Since the execution of the arrest warrant by HOCI on the 15th, President Yoon has been staying in the detainee room inside Seoul Detention Center. Following his formal detention on the morning of the 19th, he is expected to be transferred to the inmate housing unit and placed in a solitary cell of about 10 square meters (approximately 3 pyeong). However, since he must be housed in a vacant cell within the detention center, there is a possibility he may be placed in a room larger than 3 pyeong.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.