2010 in South Korea
Events in the year 2010 in South Korea.
Incumbents
Events
January
February
March
- March 2 – The Education Ministry conducted new teacher evaluation system.
- March 23 – The ROKS Cheonan, a South Korean Navy ship carrying 104 personnel, sinks off the country's west coast, killing 46. In May, an independent investigation blames North Korea, which denies the allegations.[1][2]
- March 30 – Han Ju-ho, South Korean naval diver, had died after losing consciousness whilst searching for survivors and another had been hospitalised.
April
- April – South Korean government called off the rescue operation for the missing sailors.
- April 3 – A South Korean warship catches up with an oil tanker that was hijacked by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean.
- April 15 – Stern section of the ship was winched from the seabed by a large floating crane, drained of water and placed on a barge for transportation to the Pyongtaek navy base.
- April 21 – South Korea claims it has uncovered a North Korean plot to assassinate the most senior official to defect from the North to the South, Hwang Jang-yop.
- April 23 – North Korea seizes five properties owned by South Korea in Kŭmgangsan.
- April 24 – The same crane raised the bow portion of the Cheonan. The bodies of 40 personnel out of 46 who went down with the ship were recovered.
- April 26 – The Government announces the completion of the world’s longest seawall in a reclaimed tidal flat in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province.
- April 27 – Oh Eun-Sun becomes the first woman to successfully scale all of the world's 14 highest peaks.
- April 29 – Fallen navy mans of ROKS Cheonan was given a joint funeral.
May
- May 16 – The Republic of Korea Navy fires shots at a patrol boat from North Korea during a skirmish.
- May 20 – South Korean-led investigation carried out by a team of international experts from South Korea, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Sweden presented a summary of its investigation, concluding that the warship had been sunk by a North Korean torpedo fired by a midget submarine.
- May 29 – President Lee Myung-bak, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, and Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama meet in Jeju in a trilateral summit to discuss strengthening trade ties and the Cheonan incident.
June
- June 2 – The 5th local elections.
- June 2 – The government says that it will spend 11.3 billion won (US$9.3 million) until 2013 to support research on key three-dimensional 3D TV technologies.
- June 10 – A second launch of Naro-1. However, the launch ended in failure 137 seconds (2 minutes 17 seconds) later, when contact with the rocket was exploded and lost.
- June 22 – South Korea national football team qualified for the knockout stages of the 2010 World Cup with 4 points, winning 2–0 against Greece, losing 4–1 to Argentina and drawing 2–2 with Nigeria.
July
- July 1 – the three neighboring cities, Masan, Changwon and Jinhae unified to create Unified Changwon City, which has a population of 1.08 million.
- July 9 – The Bank of Korea unexpectedly raise interest rates from 2% to 2.25%.
- July 24 –The South Korea and United States begin showing off their navy and air force by maneuvering dozens of ships and planes and thousands of troops in the Sea of Japan (East Sea) with intent to "rattle" North Korea.
- July 28 – Grand National Party wins five out of eight seats in a by-election to National Assembly seats.
- July 29 – Prime Minister Chung Un-chan resigned.
August
September
October
November
December
- December 2 – More than 55,000 animals are being culled after a breakout of foot-and-mouth disease at pig farms in South Korea.
- December 13 – 8.2 kilometers Busan-Geoje Fixed Link opened.
- December 18 – A Chinese fishing boat capsizes during a scuffle with a Republic of Korea Coast Guard boat, leaving one dead and two missing.
- December 20 – The Republic of Korea Marine Corps holds live-fire drill exercises on Yeonpyeong Island. North Korea says it will not retaliate.
- December 25 – Three fishermen from the People's Republic of China are released from South Korean custody.
Deaths
Main article:
Deaths in 2010
- February 6 - Lee Yeong-duk, 84, South Korean politician, Prime Minister (1994), died of pneumonia.[8]
- February 7 - Lim Soo-Hyeok, 40, South Korean baseball player (Lotte Giants), died of cardiac dysrhythmia.[9]
- March 6 - Cho Gyeong-chul, astronomer, died of heart attack.
- March 11 - Beopjeong, 78, South Korean Buddhist monk, natural death.
- March 29 - Choi Jin-yeong, actor and singer, committed suicide.
- June 30 - Park Yong-ha, actor and singer, committed suicide aged 32.
- August 12 - André Kim, fashion designer, pneumonia and colorectal cancer aged 74.
- October 10 - Hwang Jang-yop, politician in North Korea who defected to South Korea, died of a heart attack.
- December 5 - Lee Young-hee, Social activists, died of a Cirrhosis.
References
See also