(International Review) Yin Xiyue Daegu visits Park Geun-hye and apologizes for "win-win politics" or "conservative party integration"?
China News Service, Seoul, April 12 (Liu Xu and Liu Jingni) South Korean President-elect Yin Xiyue started his regional tour starting this week with Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions in South Korea.
On the 12th local time, Yin Xiyue paid a visit to former President Park Geun-hye's private residence in Daegu, and expressed her apology for the old grievances in 2016 when she presided over the investigation of Park Geun-hye's "confidence in politics" case.
Data map: South Korean President-elect Yoon Sek-yue.
According to reports, Yin Xiyue and Park Geun-hye met for about 50 minutes, accompanied by Kwon Ningse, vice chairman of the presidential handover committee, and Park Geun-hye's lawyer, Yoo Rongha.
According to relevant briefings and Korean media reports, the two met in a friendly and harmonious atmosphere, and the content involved Park Geun-hye's health status and the June 1 local election.
It is reported that on the 1st of this month, Liu Rongxia held a press conference in Daegu, announcing that he would participate in the local elections on June 1st and run for mayor of Daegu.
Park Geun-hye also voiced her voice through a video recording on the 8th, calling on the public to support Ryu Rongha.
In addition, Yin Xiyue expressed "really ashamed and always sorry" about the investigation of Park Geun-hye in the case of "confidential interference in politics", and promised to restore Park Geun-hye's reputation and inherit some of the policies of the Park Geun-hye government on an affirmative basis.
In this regard, lawyer Liu Rongxia, who was present, said that Park Geun-hye just listened calmly to the apology and did not make another statement, but expressed her gratitude to Yin Xiyue for restoring her reputation and inheriting the policy.
Yin Xiyue also solemnly invited Park Geun-hye to attend her presidential inauguration on May 10, and Park Geun-hye said she would try to participate in consideration of her own health.
Yin Xiyue also said that she is trying to learn from Park Geun-hye's father and former President Park Chung-hee's experience in governing the country by reading documents and looking for relevant people.
According to JTBC news, the "old grudges" between Yin Xiyue and Park Geun-hye can be traced back to many years ago.
In 2013, when Park Geun-hye was elected president, it was discovered that she was suspected of manipulating votes. The relevant evidence was mainly related to Yuan Sehun, the then director of national affairs, who allegedly ordered a post to interfere in the election.
Yin Xiyue was demoted and transferred to local courts after conducting a surprise investigation on the headquarters of the National Intelligence Service as the leader of the "National Intelligence Service Public Opinion Manipulation Case" investigation team.
In 2016, Park Geun-hye was caught in the scandal of "confidence interfering in politics", and Yin Xiyue, who was appointed as the leader of the investigation team, once again sat in charge of the investigation, and was also called "the person who personally sent Park Geun-hye to prison".
"Jingxiang Shimbun" commented that the meeting between Yin Xiyue and Park Geun-hye was a win-win move in the interests of both parties.
For Yin Xiyue, it was a window of opportunity to gain conservative support ahead of local elections on June 1.
For Park Geun-hye, who has restarted her political career represented by lawyer Ryu Rong-ha, this is not only a good thing to increase her influence, but also an excellent opportunity to meet with the president-elect to ensure the legitimacy of the votes she received after being legally amnesty. .
South Korea's "Asia Daily" analyzed that after the South Korean court sentenced Park Geun-hye to the impeachment case, the conservative party fell into a long-term split, which indirectly led to the conservative party's defeat in the parliamentary elections and local elections in the following years.
Yin Xiyue's visit to Park Geun-hye may, to a certain extent, ease disputes within the party on related issues and promote unity within the party.
"Daily News" also quoted local politicians as saying that Yin Xiyue's move may be the beginning of the consolidation of the Conservative Party.
If the consolidation of the Conservative Party is followed by a victory in local elections, Yin Xiyue will also have the support of the Conservative Party's hometown of Daegu and Gyeongbuk.
However, public opinion in South Korea is divided on the issue of "recovery of reputation".
It is reported that Park Geun-hye will be pardoned at the end of 2021 and will be discharged back to Daegu on March 24 this year.
There are views that Yin Xiyue's move reflects sincerity and respect.
However, some critics pointed out that Park Geun-hye started public political activities without apologizing to the public just over three months after her pardon.
In this regard, Xu Fujing, a political science researcher at Sogang University, said in an interview with Jingxiang Shimbun that Park Geun-hye's pardon does not mean that her illegal actions will also be written off.
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