SEOUL – The South Korean Cabinet has approved a measure that will see the responsibilities of the foundation established to support the Kaesong Industrial Complex transferred to the civilian sector. The decision.
According to Yonhap News Agency, will take effect next week, leading to the eventual disbandment of the foundation. Established in 2007, the foundation’s role has been largely redundant since the complex’s closure by South Korea in 2016, a move prompted by North Korea’s nuclear tests and missile launches.
The Kaesong Industrial Complex, a symbol of inter-Korean cooperation, hosted over 120 South Korean companies employing more than 54,300 North Korean workers to produce various goods. However, relations have since deteriorated, culminating in North Korea demolishing the joint liaison office within the complex in 2020 as a protest against the spread of anti-Pyongyang leaflets by defectors from the North. The ministry’s announcement marks a significant shift towards involving the civilian sector in the tasks previously managed by the foundation, reflecting ongoing changes in the landscape of inter-Korean relations.
SEOUL – Today marks significant events in the history of Korea, from student protests against communism in 1946 to major diplomatic, political, and technological developments in subsequent decades.
According to Yonhap News Agency, on March 13, 1946, students in Hamheung, present-day North Korea, protested against the spread of communism in the peninsula, signaling the beginning of ideological conflicts that would lead to the Korean War. In 1956, South Korea enhanced its international relations and healthcare infrastructure through treaties with Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the United States.
Choi Kyu-hah became the country’s 12th prime minister in 1976. A decade later, in 1986, film director Shin Sang-ok and his wife, actress Choi Eun-hee, made a dramatic escape from North Korea to the U.S. Embassy in Vienna, Austria. The Kim Dae-jung administration, in 1998, commemorated the launch of its government with a special amnesty for 5.5 million people. In 2004, SK Telecom made strides in mobile broadcasting with the launch of the Hanbyul satellite from Florida.
The year 2008 saw Lee Jay-yong and senior Samsung executives cleared of charges related to a failed internet venture. A significant oil field development deal with the UAE was secured by South Korea in 2011. The mass resignation of presidential secretaries followed the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye in 2017. Lastly, in 2020, South Korea implemented a temporary ban on stock short selling in response to the coronavirus market turmoil.