Today in Korean history

South Korea joined the International Monetary Fund in 1955. In 1996, former presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo were sentenced to death and 22.5 years in prison for rebellion and other charges, but their sentences were commuted to life imprisonment and 17 years in jail respectively by the Supreme Court in April 1997. They were later released on a special pardon in December 1997.

In 1997, the U.S. State Department granted political asylum to North Korean Ambassador to Egypt Chang Sung-kil. In 1999, creditors placed 12 affiliates of the Daewoo Group under a debt-restructuring program.

South Korean technicians were permitted to stay for longer periods of time at an inter-Korean factory park in North Korea in 2013, to better support companies planning to reopen their factories. In 2016, the vice chairman of the fifth-largest conglomerate in South Korea, Lotte Group, was found dead in what was determined to be an apparent suicide while awaiting a summons by prosecutors over corruption allegations involving the group.

In 2018, the unified Korean canoeing team won the gold medal in women's 500-meter dragon boat racing at the 18th Asian Games in Palembang, Indonesia, which was co-hosted by Jakarta. In 2021, over 370 Afghans arrived in South Korea after fleeing their war-torn country due to the Taliban's seizure of power. This operation was part of Seoul's evacuation efforts to assist Afghans who had worked at the South Korean Embassy and other facilities in Afghanistan.