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Korea Herald
14 hours ago
- Korea Herald
$1.25 jail meal has Koreans talking about ex-presidential couple
With former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee held in separate Seoul detention centers, public curiosity has zeroed in on the couple's daily life behind bars — particularly their $1.25 jail meals. The Justice Ministry revealed that three meals are provided per day for every inmate at the Seoul detention center, budgeted at 5,201 won. This amounts to approximately 1,730 won per meal. According to the monthly meal plan of the correctional authorities, Yoon is expected to have a 1,730 won ($1.25) jail meal consisting of beef and vegetable porridge with steamed potatoes and salt for Wednesday breakfast. Meals for lunch and dinner are served in a traditional Korean style with rice, soup, side dishes and kimchi. The detained former president, who has been in custody at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, since July 10, is scheduled to have braised chicken with seasoned dried seaweed and stew with soft tofu for Wednesday's lunch and dinner, respectively. Meanwhile, sliced white bread with strawberry jam, salad and sausage are available for the former first lady's Wednesday breakfast, according to the Korea Correctional Service. Kim will have pork kimchijjigae, or kimchi stew, and sweet and sour dumplings for her lunch, like any other inmate at the Seoul Southern Detention Center. Wednesday's dinner will be chilled cucumber and seaweed soup with rice and kimchi. Kim's attorneys have been telling the media that she wasn't eating well. The inmates are provided with nutritious meals totaling over 2,500 kcal per day. And no outside food is allowed. The ministry also explained that the quantities may be adjusted in the event of a sharp rise in ingredient prices to ensure appropriate budget execution. Inmates are required to eat in their cells and have to wash their meal tray in the sink before returning it. While meals comprising rice, soup, side dishes and kimchi are served for most days of the month, the inmates occasionally have different food, including cereals, cream, pork cutlet and tteokbokki — rice cakes cooked in a spicy gochujang sauce — as well. The prison menu's disclosure sparked backlash, with some criticizing that alleged criminals are living better than many law-abiding citizens. One online community member expressed that 'the former president, who is in custody, is being fed with decent meals, while I survive on two packs of instant noodles.' 'The meals that inmates get are surprisingly luxurious. Even the children at day care centers don't eat this well,' another anonymous netizen commented on a YouTube video, titled 'Yoon Suk Yeol's detention center meal plan.' Though Yoon and Kim both receive the same meals as other inmates, both were assigned solitary cells given their status as the former presidential couple. The roughly 6.6-square-meter cell is furnished with a cabinet, television, sink, bathroom, foldable table and mattress. The former presidential couple's showering and exercise times are reportedly scheduled so that they do not overlap with those of other inmates.
AFP
28-02-2025
- Entertainment
- AFP
Old video shows South Korean singer at divorce court, not visiting detained president
"Yoon Suk Yeol was surprised by Na Hoon-a's visit," reads the superimposed Korean-language text on a TikTok video posted on February 23, 2025. The 40-second video, which has been viewed 325,000 times, shows Na as he enters and exits a building while reporters attempt to question him. The video's narration and caption claims the video shows Na "making a surprise visit" to Yoon at the Seoul Detention Centre, where the president has been held since his arrest on insurrection charges over a botched martial law attempt in December 2024 (archived link). The video also includes footage of protesters outside the detention centre's entrance. Na, one of South Korea's most iconic singers, retired in January 2025 after a storied 58-year career (archived link). He reportedly rebuked ruling and opposition party lawmakers during his farewell tour, sparking "sharp criticism, particularly from politicians," according to the Korea Times newspaper. Image Screenshot of the false TikTok post, captured on February 27, 2025 The same video was shared elsewhere on TikTok, as well as on Instagram here and here. But there have been no official reports of Na making a surprise visit to see Yoon at the Seoul Detention Centre. A spokesperson for the Korea Correctional Service told AFP that detainees are allowed one regular visit a day, and all visits must be approved in advance (archived link). Yoon's arrest on January 15 -- the first time in South Korean history a sitting president had been detained -- has triggered a wave of misinformation, some of which AFP has debunked here and here. Divorce proceedings A keyword search on Google found the clips of Na used in the falsely shared video correspond to footage used in a report by broadcaster MBN of the singer's visit to a court in Yeoju, Gyeonggi province, on April 26, 2016 (archived link). The report attributes the footage to the now-defunct entertainment news outlet Focusnews. Local media reported that Na attended the court to settle the division of his assets as part of a divorce suit filed by his wife (archived link). Their divorce was finalised in October 2016 (archived link). Image Screenshot comparisons of the falsely shared video (left) and the footage published by MBN (right) The same footage was also published by other broadcasters at the time including KBS and YTN (archived here and here). The building that Na is shown entering also bears the South Korean court system's logo; the Seoul Detention Centre is run by the Korea Correctional Service, which has a different logo (archived link). Image Logo of the South Korean court system, as seen as the 23-second mark of the falsely shared video The other clips used in the falsely shared video appear to show protesters demonstrating in front of the Seoul Detention Centre's entrance. Similar footage of protesters outside the facility's entrance has been used in news clips here, here and here (archived here, here and here).
