Prisoners now allowed to keep portion of money sent by their families

The new year brought changes to the distribution of convicts' income, as a revision to the Act on the Execution of Sentences took effect. Under the new regulations, prisoners will now be allowed to retain 28 percent of their external income—such as money sent by family members or pensions—while the remaining 72 percent will be used to settle their debts. Previously, convicts had to use all their so-called extra-prison income to pay off these debts.

The legal change will impact all prisoners. Even if convicts have no debts from their past lives, they often accumulate debts while serving their sentences.