In September, three major events followed in Korean politics: on the one hand, President Lee Jae-myung's bill to abolish the prosecutor's office was passed by an overwhelming vote; on the other hand, a sudden fire broke out in the national data center, which caused a large-scale paralysis of the government system. Lee Jae-myung had to personally apologize.

At the same time, Former President Yoon Seok-yue appeared in court again after nearly three months, and his state was obviously not as good as beforeThree things appear to be political, and the reality moves at once, and behind them are the intense shocks in the Korean political structure and the multiple tests of real governance.

The prosecutor's office "left", and Li Zaiming won face and gambled his future

On September 27, the South Korean parliament voted to pass a major amendment that would completely dismantle the prosecutor's office system that lasted eight decades.Of the 180 lawmakers present on the same day, only one voted against, five abstained, the rest all supported. In the opposition National Force Party simply chose to withdraw and did not participate in the vote. The result of the vote although there were few opponents in numbers, the political game behind it was not easy.

The core of this reform is to divide the procuratorate's originally highly centralized power into two and subdivide it into different government departments. In other words, the original situation that an institution can both investigate and prosecute no longer exists.According to the new plan, the investigation and prosecution are "separated", checking and balancing each other, and avoiding the dominance of one family. Supporters believe that this is to make the system fairer and more transparent, and it is also a correction to the excessive expansion of procuratorial power in the past.

The power accumulated by the prosecutor system is not formed overnight, and behind it is the deep structure of the Korean political ecology. Almost all South Korean presidents have had direct conflicts with prosecutors during or after leaving office, and have even been jailed for this.Under this tradition, Li Zaiming's promotion of this reform is naturally easily interpreted as a "self-protection" measure, especially in the context that he himself has been involved in many investigations.

On the face of it, Li Zaiming did achieve an institutional victory. However, the effectiveness of the reform does not depend on the voting results, but on whether the newly established departments can really perform their functions, avoid the power vacuum and win the trust of the public. These are the beginning of the test.

The fire is not an accident, it is a management vulnerability.

Just as the issue of prosecution reform continued to ferment in public opinion, on the evening of September 26, a sudden fire left the South Korean government out of hand.The place of the fire was Daejeon National Information Resources Management Institute, which is one of the most important national data centers in South Korea and undertakes a large number of key e-government background operations. At the time of the accident, the staff was carrying the equipment. As a result, the lithium battery suddenly caught fire, causing large-scale combustion.

The fire lasted for nearly a day, and the losses after it was extinguished were far more than just hardware damage. Several core systems are directly paralyzed, including postal, financial, identity card identification and other services are completely disrupted, and many citizens find that "the system is unconnected" when dealing with daily business.This fire not only disrupted the pace of government operations, but also directly affected people's daily lives.

Lee held a press conference two days after the fire and publicly apologized in front of the camera. He acknowledged his irrevocable responsibilities as president and said he would thoroughly investigate the causes of the accident and raise infrastructure security standards.From an attitude perspective, this was a relatively timely response, but public opinion did not calm down.

The accident exposed more than just a fire. South Korea has long been highly digital, and government operations rely heavily on electronic systems. However, this incident shows the lack of effective redundant backup of key data and obvious loopholes in fire prevention measures. What is more interesting is that some Members pointed out that similar risks were reported as early as last year, but they did not attract enough attention.

In the public eye, the accident exacerbated doubts about the government's ability. Reform can be advanced, but if basic system security goes wrong, the public may not continue to trust it.Especially in the context of just passing a major reform bill, this fire may weaken the political capital originally accumulated by Lee Jae-myung's government.

Yin Xi Jinping appeared in court, the former president's reputation no longer

The second appearance of former President Yoon Seok Yuet in court also added a bit of drama to this eventful political season.

On September 26th, he appeared in Seoul Central District Court after 85 days of detention, and his state was obviously different from that in the past. Wearing a dark suit, no tie, gray hair and haggard look. With the name tag numbered 3617 hanging on his chest, it is no longer the high-spirited image of the president of that year.

Yin Xiyue faced many charges, mainly focusing on issues such as whether she abused her power during her term of office, violated the Archives Law, and interfered with public procedures.He resolutely denied all charges in court and personally filed a bail-free petition, saying his current health condition is troubling and the conditions of detention are modest.

External attention has been given to Yin's case, not only because of his former presidential status, but also because of the political significance symbolized by the case. South Korean politics has a tradition of "liquidation culture" and almost every resigned president is difficult to safely resign. Yin Xiyue used to be a prosecutor, but now he is being investigated by the system he is familiar with, which has a certain sense of historical irony.

Whether Li will use this case to further consolidate his position in the Ming government is still unclear. However, Yin's departure will have a significant impact on the morality and layout of the conservative camp.If he is finally released on bail, it is not ruled out that he will become a political force again; But if convicted, it symbolizes a major setback for conservatives.

South Korean politics is calm on the surface, but undercurrents are surging underneath

Although these three events happened in different scenes, they are closely related to each other. Li has promoted major changes in the prosecutor's system in order to break the old system constraints.The fire in the data center highlighted the practical shortcomings of government governance; Yoon Seok Yoon's case once again put the "liquidation cycle" of South Korean politics on the table.

It seems that Lee has won the initiative in reform, but a fire is enough to shake the trust in the government. Along with the changes in the political atmosphere brought by the former president¡¯s case, the whole Korean political arena is in a state of high instability.Reform often means breaking the existing interest pattern, and it requires not only courage, but also follow-up execution and public patience.

Lee Jae-myung's next road will not be easy. Institutional reform is only the first step. How to make the new institution operate effectively, how to avoid another "paralysis" accident in the government system, and how to deal with the political impact of the Yin Xiyue case are the real challenges.

South Korea¡¯s political ecology is undergoing a profound adjustment.In the face of this complex situation, the average people are most concerned, in fact, not whether a certain bill has been, whether some officials have resigned, but whether these political moves can ultimately bring more stable life, more reliable system, more trustworthy government.

The question of whether Li in Ming can stabilize the situation, whether Yin Xi Jinping can get out of the cell, and whether South Korea's institutional reform can really land, these questions will not be answered immediately.

Behind every decision is a bigger cost. South Korea wants to jump out of the dead cycle of ¡°reform ¨C liquidation ¨C re-reform¡± and voting and apologizing alone is not enough.The real test has just begun.

Source of information:

On September 27, 2025, the South Korean Congress passed the amendment to the Government Organization Law, with 174 votes in favour, 1 vote against, 5 abstentions -- the prosecutor's office system was abolished, its functions were split into the "Public Prosecutor's Office" (subordinate to the Ministry of Legal Affairs) and the "Major Crime Investigation Office" (subordinate to the Ministry of Administrative Security), and the separation of the right to investigate and the right to prosecute was fully realized.