Today in Korean history

Today in Korean history

Jan. 17

1981 -- The opposition Democratic Korea Party is launched.

1992 -- Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa offers an apology for Tokyo's
1910-45 colonization of the Korean Peninsula during his speech before the South
Korean National Assembly.

2001 -- The Seoul government announces that it sought Washington's consent to
allow it to develop and produce missiles with a range of up to 300 kilometers
which can carry warheads weighing up to 500 kilograms. Under a 1979 accord with
the United States, South Korea was barred from developing missiles with a range
of over 180 kilometers.

2005 -- South Korea declassifies more than a thousand pages of decades-old
sensitive documents regarding its diplomatic normalization with Japan in 1965.
The declassification later spurred a series of compensation lawsuits by victims
of Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule.

2008 -- The Constitutional Court dismisses former president Roh Moo-hyun's
petition to allow political comments by government officials before an election,
upholding the legality of South Korea's election law.
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