2010 in South Korea

Incumbents

• President – Lee Myung-bak, President of South Korea
• Prime Minister –
• #Chung Un-chan, Prime Minister of South Korea
• #Yoon Jeung-hyun, Acting Prime Minister of South Korea
• #Kim Hwang-sik, Prime Minister of South Korea

  Events

January

• January 4 – Korea are affected by the heaviest snowfall in 60 years, causing widespread disruption.
• January 9 – The 2010 South Korean Figure Skating Championships was held to January 10.

  February

• February 25 – Constitutional Court of Korea had said that the death penalty was constitutional and must be preserved.
• February 26 – Kim Yuna set a new world record total of 228.56 as well as winning figure skating in 2010 Winter Olympics.

  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.
• 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 Mount Kumgang.
• 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 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 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 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

• August 1 – South Korea women's national under-20 football team beat Colombia 1-0 in the third place match.
• Augusts- South Korea states that NorthKorea fired over 100 rounds of artillery into the Sea of Japan, signaling tension along the Korean Peninsula
• August 10 – The Prime Minister of Japan Naoto Kan apologises to South Korea for colonising the Korean peninsula for three decades in the early 20th century and promises to return cultural relics in the near future.
• August 11 – Typhoon Dianmu struck in the Southern Korean Peninsula.
• August 15 – Gwangbokjeol, Restoration work on the Gwanghwamun was finished and revealed to the public.
• August 16 – Tens of thousands of Republic of Korea Armed Forces and United States armed forces ignore warnings from North Korea, and start a new round of the Ulchi-Freedom Guardian drills in South Korea.

  September

• September 2 – Typhoon Kompasu struck in west coast of the Korean Peninsula.
• September 4 – Yu Myung-hwan resigns as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade amid accusations of nepotism after his daughter is hired to a midlevel position in his Ministry.
• September 25 – The 2010 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup gave Korea their first FIFA World Cup title.
• September 29 – Kim Jong-un, the son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, is appointed to two party posts in a move seen as a gradual transfer of power.

  October

• October 1 – 2010 Busan fire.
• October 6 – South Korea and the European Union sign a free trade agreement.
• October 7 – Pusan International Film Festival.
• October 9 – Seoul international fireworks festival.
• October 23 – In preparation for the Seoul summit, finance ministers of the G-20 agree to reform the International Monetary Fund and shift 6% of the voting shares to developing nations and countries with emerging markets.
• October 24 – Korean Grand Prix.
• October 27 – The local by-elections.
• October 30 – Family reunions take place in North Korea between North and South Korean families separated during the Korean War.

  November

• November 1 – Gyongbu express line was opened at Dongdaegu~Singyongju~Ulsan~Busan
• November 6 – Somali pirates receive a record £7.6m in ransoms for seized South Korean and Singaporean ships.
• November 11 – 12 – The G-20 summit is held in Seoul, South Korea. Korea becomes the first non-G8 nation to host a G-20 leaders summit.
• November 11 – Lotte Corporation gains approval by the government to start the construction of the Lotte World Tower in the Songpa District, Seoul, South Korea.
• November 13 – Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma won the title of 2010 AFC Champions League.
• November 18 – The College Scholastic Ability Test.
• November 18 – A Government report finds that the Sunshine Policy to North Korea adopted by the former government had not resulted in changes to Pyongyang's behaviour.
• November 23 – North Korea shells Yeonpyeong Island, prompting a military response by South Korea. The incident caused an escalation of tension on the Korean Peninsula and prompted widespread international condemnation. The United Nations declared it to be one of the most serious incidents since the end of the Korean War.

  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

• February 6 – Lee Yung-dug, 84, South Korean politician, Prime Minister, died of pneumonia.
• February 7 – Lim Soo-hyeok, 40, South Korean baseball player, died of cardiac dysrhythmia.
• March 6 – Cho Gyeong-chul, astronomer, died of a heart attack.
• March 29 – Choi Jin-young, 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.