“Yoon showed strong gluttony, dismissive attitude toward guards”: inside account from Seoul Detention Center

Ryu Hyuk, former inspector general at the Ministry of Justice, relayed grievances from correctional officers regarding former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s time in custody at the Seoul Detention Center.

Appearing on MBC radio’s Kim Jong-bae’s Focus on the morning of the 19th, Ryu said he had heard from correctional officers that Yoon had expressed complaints such as “I want more coffee” and “the side dishes are inadequate.”

Ryu explained, “This is not something I learned as a lawyer, but from conversations I had with correctional officers while serving as inspector general at the Ministry of Justice.” He had previously resigned after refusing to attend an emergency meeting convened by then–Justice Minister Park Sung-jae immediately following the declaration of martial law on December 3, 2024.

He continued, “From the perspective of correctional officers, Yoon’s attitude during interviews felt dismissive toward them, making them uncomfortable. When given the opportunity to speak, instead of offering any words of appreciation to officers who have had to deal with him, he reportedly focused only on expressing his own discomfort.”

Ryu added, “For example, he would say things like, ‘I want to drink more coffee,’ or ‘the food is insufficient.’ To quote one officer directly, it got to the point where they remarked, ‘Isn’t he someone with a very strong appetite?’”

He further noted, “As this situation continued, I also heard that some officers became reluctant to meet with him at all.”

In response to a question about whether such issues could be resolved using personal funds (commissary money), Ryu said, “Even so, he appears to try to satisfy desires that cannot be addressed through commissary by raising them during meetings,” adding, “By making one-sided demands, officers seem to have become disappointed, thinking, ‘So he is this kind of person—quite greedy.’”