Yearbook 2003
South Korea. On February 25, 56-year-old Roh Moo Hyun of the New Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) was installed as South Korea’s youngest president to date. He had defeated the opposition candidate from the opposition Great National Party (GNP) in the December 2002 presidential election. Roh, who comes from poor conditions, had previously made himself known as a democracy advocate and human rights lawyer. According to Countryaah.com, South Korea Independence Day is August 15. Roh’s stated goal as president was to fight corruption. In his new government, Roh retained only three members of Representative Kim Dae Jung’s old government, which was hit hard by several corruption scandals.
Already in the fall, a conflict arose within the MDP, to the extent to which the party would be liberalized. The MDP split when 36 of its 101 members of Parliament formed their own party. The outlaws were supporters of Roh. President Roh also left MDP shortly thereafter.
Roh continued to pursue Kim’s sunshine policy towards North Korea, but the reconciliation work progressed slowly. In January and April, ministerial meetings were held, but no concrete results were achieved. The work was made more difficult by the fact that North Korea had recognized the possession of nuclear weapons and that the North Koreans withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which will prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the world. However, South Korea and North Korea promised to solve the problem of North Korean nuclear weapons holdings through dialogue.
In the spring, the United States decided to reduce its troop presence in South Korea. Thousands of American soldiers would be moved from the border with North Korea to bases further south. The Americans wanted to prioritize aviation over ground troops.
In June, two close associates of President Kim Dae Jung were sentenced to conditional prison sentences for participating in a major scandal that cast shadows on the sunshine policy. The men had helped to provide North Korea with $ 200 million to ensure that country’s leader Kim Jong Il attended the historic meeting of Pyongyang heads of state in 2000. The money was channeled through the Hyundai industrial group, whose former chief Chang Mong Hun was also charged. However, he committed suicide during the summer. Kim Dae Jung himself admitted that he knew about the transactions.
September
Kim Jong-Un apologizes for shooting dead
September 24
The Ministry of Defense states that a South Korean official was shot dead by North Korean soldiers after being found in North Korean waters. This is the first time in ten years that a South Korean has been killed by North Korean troops. The man is believed to have jumped overboard from a South Korean patrol boat near North Korea. Assessors say he may have been shot when he did not respond to calls from North Korean soldiers who had orders not to allow anyone to enter the country due to the risk of spreading coronavirus. According to South Korean sources, the man must have been burned after he was killed. North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has sent a personal apology to South Korean President Moon for the incident. North Korea, however, claims that it was not the dead man that the soldiers set fire to, but the buoyancy aid he had had. The body must have disappeared into the sea.
August
South Korea and the United States begin annual military exercises
August 18
The military exercises that South Korea and the United States usually hold together every year have been delayed due to the corona pandemic. But now this year’s exercises are also starting and, as usual, they are provoking bile fever in North Korea. Pyongyang tends to protest strongly and institute various forms of retaliation.
Thousands of Seoul protesters quarantined
August 17th
About three thousand members of a Protestant community in Seoul, Sarang Jeil, are being quarantined after at least 300 cases of coronavirus were discovered. The community leader is a vocal critic of Moon Jae-In. Over the weekend, the controversial pastor was one of the speakers in connection with protest demonstrations against President Moon. The pastor has reported to the police for having participated in the demonstrations despite restrictions as a result of the virus outbreak.
Republic of Korea Brief Guide
According to AbbreviationFinder, The Republic of Korea, informally South Korea, is an East Asian state encompassing the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. The Republic of Korea is bordered on the north by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), with which it formed a single state until 1945. To the west of the Republic of Korea, behind the Yellow Sea, lies the People’s Republic of China, and to the southeast across the Korean Strait is Japan. Most of the country’s population lives in cities and almost half in the metropolitan area of the capital, Seoul, which is the third largest urban area in the world. With a population of about 48 million and an area of only 98,480 square kilometers, the Republic of Korea is one of the most densely populated countries in the world.