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 - Min Byung-kwon, a 52-year-old correctional officer who has spent 14 years of his 27-year career at Korea's sole prison for foreign inmates, asserts that the only distinguishing factor between Korean and foreign prisoners is their skin color. During his tenure, Min observed that a lack of fear in committing crimes transcends national boundaries.
"Some inmates don't wish to be deported upon release because they love Korea, while others demand better treatment, claiming Korea to be a wealthy nation," Min stated in an interview with The Korea Times. "It can be surprising to encounter inmates from far-off countries speaking fluent Korean." However, such fluency is uncommon, as most foreign inmates have limited proficiency in the Korean language.
Russians and Uzbeks typically struggle the most, while many Chinese inmates, who are ethnic Koreans from China, possess good enough Korean to serve as interpreters for others. The kind of fearlessness Min witnessed among the inmates is evident in the nature of their crimes. 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.
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