On September 27, Seoul’s central district court held a high-profile trial.Former President Yin Xi Jinping appeared in court for the first time after being imprisoned for two and a half months.
According to the regulations, the media was allowed to shoot for a short time before the trial began. The camera captured Yongxiang, thin, full of white hair, exhausted, and strongly contrary to the image of his presidency. He was dressed in a dark suit, but did not wear a tie, and had a confinement number with the inscription "3617" on his chest. During the expedition, he wore his hands with a bracelet until he entered the court.
The day was also most notable because the court allowed the entire trial process to be filmed and will be published after the post-trial. This not only means that the public will see the outcome of the judgment, but will have a more intuitive understanding of the entire trial process. This is the first time in the history of Korean justice that the public viewed it as a "historical scene".
Yin said in a 20-minute speech in court that he was detained in a six-square-meter cell, “Life is very difficult.” such statements are both self-defense and use open platforms to create public opinion influence.
Case progress and key allegations
At the heart of the case is the independent investigation group accusing him of “civil disaster treason”. Specifically, prosecutors believe that he used “special means” to hinder the execution of official duties and abuse his authority to violate the rights of others. In July this year, the court issued an arrest warrant for his detention on the basis of “preoccupation with the destruction of evidence by the suspect.”
Since then, the lawyer team has repeatedly tried to apply for re-examination of the detention decision, but all of them were rejected by the court. Their other strategy is to take advantage of loopholes in the meeting rules to allow Yin Xiyue to stay in a conference room with better conditions for a long time instead of a detention room. Although this kind of operation is within the legal framework, it has aroused doubts from the outside world.
The case is not limited to Yin Xi Jinping individuals. over the past two months, the prosecutor's office has repeatedly filed requests for the arrest of its core officials, including former Prime Minister Yin Xi Jinping and former Executive Security Minister Chief Li Qingming, all of whom are charged with "participation in major tasks of civil unrest".
What's even more impactful is that former first lady Jin Jianxi was also arrested in August on charges involving accepting bribes and interfering in party personnel. She was detained in the detention center in southern Seoul, and her living conditions were no different from those of ordinary suspects. Faced with the four-hour inquiry, she remained silent almost all the time, only responding to individual questions.
This means that for the first time in the modern history of South Korea, the former president and the former first lady were arrested at the same time, and the fate of politics and family was intertwined, which was far more shocking than before.
Judicial practice and institutional tension
There is an intriguing phenomenon in Korean politics: among successive presidents, many of them can't escape jail after leaving office. From Quan Douhuan and Lu Taiyu to Lee Myung-bak and park geun-hye, this inertia of "former presidents must be tried" has almost become the fate of the system.
This phenomenon, on the surface, reflects the independence of the judiciary and the balance of power, but on the other hand also reflects the logic of the intense and rotating liquidation of political struggle. Every new president may use judicial means to deal with the political legacy of his predecessors, thus falling into the vicious circle of “politics and justice intertwined”.
The Yin Xiyue case has two prominent new features in this tradition:
First, the video of the entire trial and the publicity, which is a breakthrough to transparency, can also politicize the trial itself. The public will not only see the outcome, but will be able to observe all the details of the defence, quotation, dispute, which creates greater pressure on both judges and prosecutors.
Second, the former presidential couple were arrested at the same time, greatly enhancing the symbolic significance of the case. It strengthened the image of justice "without privilege" over power, but also exacerbated the social crackdown, as supporters would be easier to interpret it as a "total blow."
This system tensions, is the real picture of South Korea's judicial and political difficult to separate.
Political significance and governing pressure
For the co-democratic party in power of current President Li at the time, how to advance Yuan Xi’s case is both an opportunity and a risk.
The opportunity lies in the fact that, through the harsh handling of the former president, Li in Ming can transmit to the public the "anti-corruption, non-harassment of private affairs" signal, thus establishing prestige.
But the risks are equally obvious. First of all, South Korea's political landscape is highly torn, and conservative voters may regard Yin Xiyue's trial as a "political reckoning", thus stimulating stronger antagonistic sentiments. Secondly, if the judicial process is questioned as flawed, Lee Jae-myung's government will be accused of "engaging in politics through justice" instead, resulting in damage to its reputation.
This means that Lee Jae-myung must keep a delicate balance between winning public opinion and avoiding counterattack. For him, this is not only an opportunity to establish ruling authority, but also a test that may lead to fire.
Public opinion reactions and future impacts
The Yinxiang case has sparked a clear dissolution in South Korean society; some people believe that justice should be thoroughly prosecuted, whether the target is the former president or the former first lady; and others fear that excessive politicization of trials will plunge society into endless conflict.
This rupture is not a new phenomenon.From Lutein Dumbledore to Park Geun-hye, almost every time the former president is tried, it triggers the same polarized reaction.But this time the peculiarity is that the whole trial is public, and the former presidents and couples are in collusion, making public opinion controversy even more intense.
The future impact is mainly reflected in three aspects:
To the ruling party: If the trial goes smoothly, Li Zaiming is expected to take the opportunity to stabilize his power; However, if there is a procedural dispute, the ruling legitimacy will be impacted.
Politics of Korea.It could deepen the cycle of "rotational liquidation of political parties" and weaken political stability in the long run.
Public perceptionThe trial will further strengthen the people’s contradictory impression of South Korea’s politics – on the one hand, judicial independence, and on the other hand, unable to get rid of the political colour.
From Yinxiang to Yinxiang, the fate of South Korea's "ex-president trial" seems to be difficult to break. Today, Yinxiang and Kim Jiangxi are simultaneously held on the defendant's table, not only a fallout of personal fate, but also a concentrated embodiment of South Korean justice and politics.
This trial will not only determine the future of a former president, but will largely shape the leadership trajectory of Lee in the Ming administration and even affect the political direction of South Korean society.
Yin's white-haired appearance in court is a sign of the Korean system's rotation: the summit of power and the abyss are often only one step away.