Minister of Justice Song Jeong-ho ordered 44 jails and detention houses nationwide, and four provincial government holding-offices, Wednesday, to allow prisoners to watch World Cup matches when they are broadcast wherever possible. The minister ordered the institutes' directors to run flexible viewing hours even if a match lasts past 10:00pm, the inmates' curfew time.

As a result, prisoners will be able to watch the South Korean opener on June 4 with Poland, as well as other matches through some 8,000 TVs installed in prison facilities nationwide. At the time of the 1988 Seoul Olympics, only a group of model prisoners were able to watch the games while other prisoners watching recorded broadcasts. (Park Se-yong, se@chosun.com )