Prison holiday meals spark debate: 'Inmates eat better than me'

Reports that some correctional facilities served inmates special meals for Liberation Day have reignited debate over how prisoners are treated.

On Friday, photos of inmate meal schedules from several correctional facilities around Liberation Day on Saturday circulated on online communities and social media.

North Gyeongsang No. 1 Prison served half a pizza as its Liberation Day special. Cheongju Women's Prison included what is commonly called "half-and-half chicken" — a split order of two flavors — in its menu. Seoul Eastern Detention Center offered seafood soft tofu soup, hayashi rice and spoonable pudding.

As the meal schedules spread online, many users reacted negatively. "Inmates eat better than me, and I haven't done anything wrong," one commenter wrote. Others called it excessive to provide criminals with special meals like pizza and chicken, with some saying the food "looks better than a company cafeteria," asking "did they go on vacation?" and questioning whether criminals needed special meals on top of three square meals a day.

Others pushed back, arguing that a daily budget of around 5,000 won per inmate hardly constitutes a lavish diet and that the meals represent a minimum standard needed to maintain inmates' health.

The practice has a legal basis. Under Article 29 of the enforcement decree of the Act on the Execution of Sentences and Treatment of Inmates, the heads of prisons and detention centers may provide special meals on national holidays and equivalent occasions.

Correctional authorities say they plan menus within the allocated budget while meeting mandatory nutritional standards.

The daily food budget per inmate at correctional facilities nationwide is 5,201 won. Divided across three meals, that works out to roughly 1,734 won per meal.

Menus at correctional facilities are set on a weekly basis and rotate over a month. Special holiday meals are also planned within that same budget.

Even so, controversy over inmate treatment resurfaces each time special holiday menus become public.