Today in Korean history

June 9

1953 -- South Korea's Cabinet decides not to sign the proposed Korean War armistice in a symbolic gesture to show the government's desire for unification of the Korean Peninsula. The agreement was signed on July 27 by the American-led U.N. Command on one side, and North Korea and China on the other, without the participation of South Korea.

1981 -- Harvard University establishes a research institute for Korean studies.

1983 -- Kim Young-sam, leader of the opposition New Democratic Party, ends a three-week hunger strike that he held to protest the military junta led by Chun Doo-hwan.

1987 -- Lee Han-yeol, a student activist from Yonsei University in Seoul, falls into a coma after being hit by a tear gas canister hurled by riot police during a pro-democracy street protest in Seoul. He died about a month later, triggering a series of violent anti-government street demonstrations across the country that forced the government to introduce a direct presidential election system.

2006 -- President Roh Moo-hyun said Seoul is expected to take back wartime operational control of the South Korean military from the U.S. in about five years.

2008 -- North Korea warns it will be forced to bolster its nuclear arsenal and other "war deterrents" if the United States and South Korea continue to threaten it militarily.

2013 -- South and North Korea hold working-level talks at the truce village of Panmunjom, the first in more than two years, ahead of an inter-Korean ministerial meeting.

2016 -- The Bank of Korea slashes the policy rate to a record low of 1.25 percent to support the economy amid signs of a downturn. It marked the first rate cut in 12 months.

2017 -- A Seoul court issues an arrest warrant for Yoo Sum-na, a daughter of a late businessman who controlled the operator of a ferry that sunk in 2014, killing hundreds of passengers. Yoo, extradited from France days ago, was accused of embezzling billions of won from the operator of the ferry.

2018 -- K-pop sensation BTS' music video for "DNA" exceeds 400 million views on YouTube, marking the first time that a South Korean music group has set such a record.
(END)