Today in Korean history

May 13

1975 -- In the face of continuing popular unrest, Park Chung-hee promulgates the 9th State of Emergency decree, the final version of a series of emergency measures that led to the jailing of hundreds of dissidents.

1997 -- Two North Korean families defect to South Korea.

2006 -- South and North Korea agree to conduct test-runs of two sets of railways that were built across their heavily fortified border.

2009 -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev agree to upgrade their countries' relationship to a "strategic partnership" and launch a number of joint projects to create billions of dollars of benefits for both sides.

2010 -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak says the country needs to reconsider a long-term defense reform project crafted by the former Roh Moo-hyun administration, as it does not fully reflect the security conditions on the peninsula.

2013 -- South Korean President Park Geun-hye apologizes over allegations of sexual misconduct by her spokesman during her visit to the United States. Yoon Chang-jung was accused of committing a sexual misdemeanor against a Korean-American woman.

2015 -- A reservist goes on a shooting spree at a military training camp in Naegok-dong, southern Seoul, killing two colleagues and wounding two others before taking his own life. It is the first time in South Korea's military history that a reservist has opened fire on people, though the country has witnessed several suicides and accidents involving reservists with firearms.
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