Today in Korean history

Dec. 30

1970 -- Korea Telecom launches direct distance dialing nationwide, enabling customers to make long-distance calls without the assistance of an operator.

1990 -- Former President Chun Doo-hwan returns to his home in Seoul from Baekdam Temple in Gangwon Province, where he and his wife Lee Soon-ja confined themselves from November 1988 through December 1990 to escape public criticism of his involvement in the 1980 Gwangju massacre and irregularities during his term. Chun served as president until February 1988 after rising to power in 1980 through a 1979 coup.

1994 -- Bobby Hall, a South Korea-based U.S. Air Force pilot, returns to Seoul via the truce village of Panmunjom after making a forced landing in North Korea and being detained for 13 days.

1998 -- The National Assembly passes a bill calling for the lowering of the retirement age for teachers to 62 from 65.

2002 -- The government designates the inner port of Incheon as a duty-free area.

2005 -- The National Assembly approves the government's plan to reduce the number of South Korea's 3,200 troops in Iraq by one-third but extend their deployment until the end of the following year.
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