I strongly disagree with the 12-year prison sentence for opposition lawmaker Lee Seok-ki. The South Korean government is acting just like North Korea in imprisoning an activist for exercising his freedom of speech.
The government did not produce any evidence of actual links or conspiracy between Lee and the North Korean government. In my view, Lee is just a modern-day Don Quixote, another graying, middle-aged activist reliving his youthful days of radicalism with like-minded supporters.
Let them sing their North Korean songs and dream of glorious revolution. Were Lee really a serious terrorist or revolutionary, he would have organized quietly in a small cell of fellow conspirators, instead of loudly declaring his plans in a large gathering that could be easily infiltrated by government agents.
The South Korean government is making a needless martyr out of Lee. I urge the high court to overturn the ruling or the President to pardon Lee, so he and discredited ideals can return to the dustbin of history.
Dr. Joseph Yi
Hanyang University
The government did not produce any evidence of actual links or conspiracy between Lee and the North Korean government. In my view, Lee is just a modern-day Don Quixote, another graying, middle-aged activist reliving his youthful days of radicalism with like-minded supporters.
Let them sing their North Korean songs and dream of glorious revolution. Were Lee really a serious terrorist or revolutionary, he would have organized quietly in a small cell of fellow conspirators, instead of loudly declaring his plans in a large gathering that could be easily infiltrated by government agents.
The South Korean government is making a needless martyr out of Lee. I urge the high court to overturn the ruling or the President to pardon Lee, so he and discredited ideals can return to the dustbin of history.
Dr. Joseph Yi
Hanyang University
