A UBC professor says the events surrounding former Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol, should be known to the world and especially the Korean diaspora in Canada.
Don Baker, a UBC Professor of Korean History and Civilization, tells 1130 NewsRadio that he was not surprised this week, when he heard that Yoon was sentenced to life in prison after unconstitutionally imposing martial law in December 2024.
On Wednesday, the Seoul Central District Court found Yoon guilty of treason when he mobilized military and the police to occupy the National Assembly and arrest his political opponents.
Baker says the court’s decision sends “a signal” that no politician should ever do this again.
“I was glad that the court said what he did was totally unacceptable in democratic South Korea. And you have to pay a price for acting the way he did, trying to overthrow democracy,” said Baker.
He says the Korean people deserve a Nobel Peace Prize for demonstrating against Yoon’s actions.
Local outlets reported that political scientists had sent the Norwegian Nobel Committee a recommendation to award Koreans.
Seoul National University Professor Kim Eui-young told The Korea Herald that the citizens played a central role.
“Just as K-pop and K-drama are contributing positively to the world, ‘K-democracy’ stands on the same level,” he said.
In a post to social media, Yoon’s successor, President Lee Jae Myung, said “Korean citizens will be the great example in human history.”
“I feel really lucky that I’ve watched Korea in my lifetime go from poverty and dictatorship to prosperity and democracy,” shared Baker, reflecting on the night.
“Young women rushed to the National Assembly to stop a coup. It was wonderful, wonderful to see that,” he said.
Watching as martial law was lifted within a matter of hours, Baker says, brought back memories of the young men who died fighting for democracy in Gwangju in 1980.
“It made me really proud to be a professor of Korean Studies.”
Baker says the actions that led Yoon to life in prison will be remembered in history.
“Koreans were able to, for the fifth time, jail a former president for actions taken when they were either in the presidency or soon afterwards. That, I think, young Koreans can be proud of.”