Seoul – South Korea has witnessed several significant events on this day in history. In 1980, the Korea Broadcasting System aired the country’s first color television broadcast, marking a major milestone in the nation’s broadcasting history. Twelve years later, in 1992, South Korea established diplomatic relations with South Africa, expanding its global diplomatic reach. In 1998, Hyundai Motor Co. acquired Kia Motors Corp., which had been the country’s second-largest carmaker before its collapse the previous year.
According to Yonhap News Agency, another notable event occurred in 2005 when South Korea’s National Assembly ratified a free trade agreement with Singapore, Seoul’s second such agreement following one with Chile. Tragedy struck in 2014 when a South Korean fishing boat, the Oryong 501, sank in the Bering Sea, resulting in the deaths of 27 crew members and leaving 26 missing; only seven survived. In a move to bolster national defense, South Korea launched a new Marine Corps brigade in 2015 to protect the southern resort island of Jeju and its surrounding areas.