The Tamesis
April 23, 2026
Seoul – Donations to high-profile individuals currently incarcerated are under renewed scrutiny over loopholes in South Korea’s prison funding system and the use of private bank accounts to solicit support.
The issue drew new attention on Tuesday after the daughter of Jung Yoo-ra, Jung Yoo-ra, and Choi Seo-won, Choi Soon-sil, appealed for financial support on social media, saying her children may end up in an orphanage.
In 2025, Chung was charged with fraud and was not detained after allegedly borrowing 698 million won ($472,000) from an acquaintance to pay for his mother’s medical and legal expenses but failing to repay the money. She was detained at Uijeongbu Correctional Facility in February after failing to appear in court several times.
Her mother, Choi, was at the center of a 2016 political scandal involving her influence over then-President Park Geun-hye, which ultimately led to her impeachment and removal from office.
“I haven’t seen or heard from my three sons in nine weeks,” Chung wrote in a post on Tuesday. “The house my children live in is going to be foreclosed on soon and they have nowhere to go. Please help us for once and keep my children out of an orphanage.”
The post included a bank account number in her son’s name, highlighting how donations could be solicited outside of the formal prison account system.
Chung is not the first high-profile prisoner to seek financial support while in custody.
According to data released by the Ministry of Justice earlier this month, imprisoned former President Yoon Seok-yeol received more than 1.2 billion won in prisoner funds during his eight-month detention, equivalent to 4.6 times the president’s annual salary in 2025.
Former first lady Kim Kun-hee earned more than 93 million won during the same period.
The money was sent through more than 27,000 separate deposits after Yin’s allies organized an online fundraiser.
Other prominent prisoners, including Reconstruction Korea Party leader Cho Kook and his wife Jung Kyung-shim, also received more than 240 million won in prisoner funds from supporters in two years.
“It should be ensured that the system operates to achieve its original purpose and is not abused as a channel to provide support or donations to prisoners,” Rep. Park Eun-jung of the Korea Reconstruction Party told local media of the donation to Yoon.
Under Korean law, prisoners can receive money from outside sources to pay for daily necessities such as food and toiletries. But they are not allowed to hold more than 4 million won in their prison accounts at any given time. Any amount above this must be made unavailable before being released, or transferred to a personal bank account.
Since there are no limits on the number of deposits or withdrawals, money can be transferred in and out of inmate accounts repeatedly as long as the balance remains below the cap.
If the court issues a confiscation order, up to 1.5 million won of prisoner funds can be confiscated. Inmate funds exceeding 500,000 won are also subject to tax, but experts say it is actually difficult for authorities to track inmates’ personal assets.
In cases like Chung’s, where donations are made through personal bank accounts rather than prison accounts, monitoring and enforcement becomes more difficult for legal and tax authorities.
“I think this exposed a loophole in the system that allowed excess prisoner funds to be transferred to private accounts,” said Kim Nam-kook, spokesman for South Korea’s ruling party.
“Institutional changes are needed so that prisoners cannot access funds above a certain cap.”
