After 14 years with foreign inmates, correctional officer says crime has no nationality
CHEONAN, South Chungcheong Province — The only real difference between Korean and foreign inmates, says Min Byung-kwon, is their skin color. Min, 52, has spent 14 years of his 27-year career working at Cheonan Correctional Institution, Korea's only prison tasked with handling foreign inmates, and his time listening to them convinced him that a fearlessness about committing crime crosses every…
Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province — At Cheonan Correctional Institution, Korea's sole facility for foreign inmates, 52-year-old correctional officer Min Byung-kwon has noticed no significant difference between Korean and international prisoners, aside from their skin color. Over the course of 14 years, spanning his 27-year career, Min has listened to numerous inmates, which has reinforced his belief that a lack of fear when committing crime is not tied to one's nationality.
"Some inmates don't want to be deported upon release because they enjoy living in Korea, while others ask for better treatment, claiming Korea is a wealthy nation," Min stated in an interview with The Korea Times. Occasionally, he is astonished by how certain foreign inmates can speak fluent Korean. Nevertheless, such linguistic abilities are uncommon, as most inmates from distant countries have limited knowledge of the Korean language.
Among the various nationalities, Russians and Uzbeks often struggle the most with the language, while many Chinese inmates, who are ethnically Korean, possess a good enough grasp of Korean to interpret for others. The audacity Min observes is reflected in the types of crimes that have led these individuals to serve time behind bars. Drug offenses are the most prevalent, followed by fraud.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
