Today in Korean history

All News 14:00 July 15, 2016

July 16

1950 -- As North Korean invaders advance on the nation in the early days of the Korean War, President Rhee Syng-man moves his government from Daejeon in central South Korea to the southeastern city of Daegu. Rhee was later forced to move it further south to Busan, a port city. North Korean soldiers seized South Korea's capital, Seoul, three days after the war started on June 25, forcing the government to relocate further down the peninsula to Daejeon.

1952 -- The U.S. State Department announces that the total number of U.S. casualties in the Korean War stands at 112,843. About 8,100 others were later listed as missing in action. The war ended with a cease-fire, not a peace treaty, on July 27, 1953.

1999 -- The nation's most wanted fugitive, Shin Chang-won, is arrested by police in Suncheon, 415 kilometers south of Seoul. Shin earlier escaped from prison while serving a life sentence for murder and armed robbery, before eluding police for 2 1/2 years as they conducted an intensive nationwide manhunt for him. His intelligence and deftness made him a celebrity while he was on the run. The prosecution sought a death sentence for Shin after he was captured, with the court handing him an additional 22 1/2 years in jail.

2012 -- North Korea's Korean Central News Agency says its military chief, Ri Yong-ho, has been removed from all his posts due to "illness." Ri was also dismissed as a member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the party and a vice chairman of the party's Central Military Commission.

Ri, who rose to the ranking positions in the Kim Jong-un regime, was previously known as a key figure who helped Kim seize control of the military following the death of his father and former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in December 2011.

2014 -- Choi Kyung-hwan is inaugurated as deputy prime minister for economic affairs and the second finance minister of the Park Geun-hye administration, taking over from his predecessor, Hyun Oh-seok.
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