Chronicle

Here are the past news moved from News of interest to Foreign Readers. Move to PC_KoreanLII.

The previous news reports in the years from 2011 are available at Chronicles in the past of KoreanLII.

News in 2024

• On Jan. 2. Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung was stabbed by a 67-year-old man during his visit to Busan, bringing the nation's political activities and judicial proceedings to a standstill ahead of the April general elections.
• On Jan. 9, the National Assembly passed two important bills ensuring that South Korea would not become a target of international criticism, and fall behind in competition with major countries: one bill bans the breeding and slaughter of dogs for consumption, and another bill establishes the Korea Aerospace Administration under the Ministry of Science and ICT.
• On Jan. 15, President Yoon Suk-yeol announced a 622 trillion won ($471.4 billion) plan to build the world's largest chip cluster in southern Gyeonggi - mainly an amalgamation of investment plans previously revealed by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix - with all-out government support including timely tax incentives.
• On Jan. 26, the Seoul Central District Court acquitted former Supreme Court Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae of all 47 charges related to his alleged abuse of judiciary power, including allegations he unfairly influenced politically sensitive trials under ousted former President Park Geun-hye.
• On Feb. 5, the Seoul Central District Court acquitted Lee Jae-yong, chairman of Samsung Electronics Co., on charges of breach of trust and accounting fraud intended to push the 2015 merger of Cheil Industries Inc. and Samsung C&T Corp. so as to increase his control over the Samsung empire.
• On Feb. 16, Jurgen Klinsmann was fired by President M.G. Chung of the Korea Football Association (KFA) after the KFA Committee recommended Klinsmann be removed citing his lack of tactical management and work attitude, which caused nationwide accusations against him following the Korean national team’s defeat by Jordan during the Asian Cup.
• On Feb. 21, more than 6,000 trainee doctors walked off the job to protest a government plan to admit more students to medical schools, while authorities said more staff are needed to increase healthcare services in remote areas and meet the growing demands of one of the world's most rapidly ageing societies.
• On Feb. 28, it was disclosed that Korea's ever-plummeting fertility rate continued its free fall in 2023 to reach another all-time low of 0.72 children per woman, down from 0.78 in 2022 despite billions of dollars in government incentives.
• On Mar. 24, with the general election just weeks away, President Yoon Suk-yeol said his administration will work with the conservative People Power Party to devise flexible measures to deal with the ongoing doctors' strike after the PPP leader Han Dong-hoon met with representatives of medical school professors in the afternoon.
• In the Apr. 10 general election, the liberal Democratic Party (DP) and its satellite party clinched a resounding victory, retaining a majority in the National Assembly, while the People Power Party (PPP) scarcely defends one third of the parliamentary quorum enough to maintain the current Constitution.
• On Apr. 29, Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Jae-myung called on President Yoon Suk-yeol to urge president to accept election verdict, and to consult with the DP-controlled National Assembly over policymaking.
• On May 9, during a press conference to mark his second anniversary, President Yoon Suk-yeol apologized for the controversy raised over first lady's acceptance of a luxury handbag in 2022, which might cause defeat of the ruling party in the latest general election.
• On May 13, the presidential office vowed to respond firmly and strongly to any unfair treatment of Korean companies with a priority on their interests in addressing the Japanese government's push to reduce the ownership of Line Yahoo (LY) by Korea's largest search engine, Naver.
• On May 21, after the two-day AI Seoul Summit. global AI tech companies agreed to new "Frontier AI Safety Commitments", which direct 16 tech companies to each publish safety frameworks on how they will measure the risks of their frontier AI models and examine the risk of misuse of technology by bad actors.
• On Jun. 3, President Yoon Suk-yeol said in a briefing that Korea has identified potential reserves of up to 14 billion barrels of crude oil and natural gas off the coast of the southeastern city of Pohang, and will begin exploratory drilling later this year.
• On Jun. 3, the National Security Council (NSC) decided to suspend the 2018 inter-Korean military agreement (effective 15:00 KST June 4, 2024 subject to President Yoon's approval) in response to North Korea's sending of trash-filled balloons over the border, jamming GPS signals and launching short-range ballistic missiles, which allows the Korean army to carry out military training near the DMZ and to take immediate responses to North Korean provocations.
• On Jun. 5, the two-day Korea-African Summit held at KINTEX, Gyeonggi Province, produced a Joint Declaration which emphasizes mutually beneficial cooperation and knowledge sharing to promote the development of industries related to critical minerals with Seoul's pledge to boost ODA to Africa to U$10 billion by 2030.
• On Jun. 20, Russian President Vladimir Putin said it would be a very big mistake for South Korea to provide lethal weapons to Ukraine lest Seoul should do such response to the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty signed by Moscow and Pyongyang the previous day.
• On Jul. 9, Korea's main opposition Democratic Party, despite the boycott of the ruling People Power Party, pushed through a standing committee plan to hold a hearing on a public petition calling for the immediate impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol on account of current political issues.
• On Jul. 12, the United States and South Korea signed joint nuclear deterrence guidelines in Washington, in which the U.S. pledged to the full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear arms, to defend South Korea against potential nuclear and missile threats from North Korea.
• On Jul. 17, the One Team Korea was picked by Czech as the preferred bidder to build two nuclear reactors in Dukovany, an estimated 17 billion dollar (24 trillion won) project that could serve as a catalyst for Korea's renewed drive to export nuclear power facilities after the Barakah plant in the United Arab Emirates in 2009.
• On Aug. 2, the opposition lawmakers with a majority seat voted to impeach the new KCC chairperson, just two days after she took office. Even though President Yoon's veto is expected, they are also pushing for the legislation of s series of controversial bills. The comedic situation has been going on for two months, with the ruling party helpless to stop the opposition's voting power superiority except filibusters and Presidential veto.
• On Aug. 11, the South Korean athletes who won gold at the Paris Olympic Games are on average 24 years old and belong to Generation Z, a highly individualistic group that dislikes interference and meddling. They brought home a record 13 gold medals for South Korea, tied for the most gold medals ever won by a team with a small roster lacking most of the ball sports. In particular, younger athletes born after 2000 have been recognized as the 'New Koreans', winning a whopping 10 gold medals in the 'gun, sword and archery' events.
• On Aug. 15, in his speech on the 79th anniversary of Liberation Day, President Yoon Suk-yeol cited strengthening domestic capabilities to promote free unification, promoting North Koreans' desire for unification, and solidarity with the international community as strategies for promoting three major unification.
• On Aug. 29, the Constitutional Court ruled that the nation's carbon neutrality law is not conforming to the Constitution for failing to sufficiently protect people's basic rights due to the absence of any greenhouse gas reduction goal after 2031. Consequently, the concerned legal provision will remain in effect only until Feb. 28, 2026.
• On Sep. 12, the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) granted a construction permit for Shin-Hanul reactor units 3 and 4 located in Uljin, Gyeongsangbuk-do, thus ending an eight-year wait due to the previous administration's nuclear phase-out and rebuilding the nuclear energy ecosystem for the future.
• On Oct. 10, all Koreans were surprised to hear that novelist Han Kang (54) has become the first Korean and the first Asian woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, and that Han's selection is for powerful and clear prose describing in-depth trauma and the fragile aspects of human life.
• On Oct. 15, North Korea blew up the roads which have connected Gaeseong in the West and Mt. Geumgang resort in the East Coast with South Korea, respectively, which signifies complete suspension of the Inter-Korean relations, and Kim Jong-un's stepped-up control over internal affairs of the country, as well.
• On Nov. 7, President Yoon Suk-yeol apologized for causing concern to the people due to issues involving those around him during a 140-minute press conference held at the presidential office, and said, "All of this is my fault and a result of my shortcomings."
• On Nov. 15, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced opposition leader Lee Jae-myung to one year in prison, suspended for two years after finding him guilty of lying during his presidential campaign, thus making him likely lose his parliamentary seat and be barred from running in the 2027 presidential election.
• On Nov. 25, Liberal Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Jae-myung was acquitted by the Seoul Central District Court of suborning a former Seongnam mayoral official, thus barely evading one of the judicial risks, and waiting for more trials that could derail his political ambitions to become president.
• On Dec. 4, President Yoon Suk-yeol announced the lifting of emergency martial law as the National Assembly voted to call for its end and his Cabinet approved a motion to end martial law enforcement at 4:30 a.m., around six hours after he made the surprise emergency declaration that caused concerns across the country and beyond.
• On Dec. 10, when political turmoil continued in South Korea, Han Kang, 54, received her medal and Nobel diploma from the Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf as the first Asian female author to win the accolade.
• On Dec. 14, the National Assembly passed the impeachment prosecution of President Yoon during a plenary session, with a few lawmakers from the People Power Party voting in favor. The Constitutional Court will now decide whether President Yoon can continue to perform his duties.
• On Dec. 27, the National Assembly passed an impeachment motion against acting President Han Duck-soo as he delayed appointing the National Assembly's nominees for the Constitutional Court owing to the lack of bipartisan consensus, thus deepening political turmoil in Korea.
• On Dec. 29, a Jeju Air passenger plane crashed at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla at 9:03 a.m. taking the lives of all but two of 181 passengers and crew in the deadliest aviation disaster on Korean soil.

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