The Ivorian ambassador to South Korea underscored the assistance that two Korean diplomats provided in safeguarding democracy in the West African nation during a reception celebrating his country’s 53rd anniversary of national independence at a hotel in Seoul on Thursday.

The two Korean diplomats that Ivorian Ambassador to South Korea Sylvestre Kouassi Bile was referring to were United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Choi Young-jin, the Korean diplomat who led the U.N. Operation in Ivory Coast.

In 2010, Choi was handed a mandate by Ban as the special representative of the secretary-general for Ivory Coast to certify the election that voted Laurent Gbagbo out of office and to ensure that the democratically elected president, Alassane Ouattara, could safely take office.

Choi’s role during the crucial four to five months in 2010 and 2011 has been largely overlooked in the Korean-language press here, but the international media at the time described his leadership as “bold” and “unprecedented.”

Choi led the U.N. operation into taking military operations using armored helicopter gunships to prevent Gbagbo forces from continuing to harm civilian populations. Air strikes carried out by the U.N. with the aim of protecting the civilian populations were the first ever in the history of U.N. peacekeeping.

Those air strikes brought the Ivorian post-election crisis to a quick and decisive conclusion and bolstered the democratically elected Ouattara.

Ivory Coast has a long relationship with South Korea. Diplomatic ties were formed on July 23, 1961, making it the first African nation to establish ties with South Korea.

(ephilip2011@heraldcorp.com)