Today in Korean history

July 24

1948 -- Rhee Syng-man takes office as South Korea's first president. The U.S.-educated leader went into self-imposed exile in 1960 after his government was toppled in a student-led pro-democracy uprising. He died in Hawaii five years later, and his body was flown to Seoul and buried at the National Cemetery.

2000 -- U.S. Forces Korea issues an apology for the dumping of toxic chemical waste into Seoul's Han River. The U.S. command admitted to the improper disposal of 20 gallons of formaldehyde from the U.S. Yongsan military compound in February of that year. The illegal dumping became known to the public in early July when a U.S. base employee revealed that U.S. forces had repeatedly released the carcinogenic chemical into the river.

2003 -- The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy selects an islet off Buan, a county in North Jeolla Province, as the site of a nuclear waste disposal facility. The project, however, collapsed due to strong opposition by Buan residents in 2004.

2005 -- Kim In-kyung wins the U.S. Girls' Junior Golf Championship.

2009 -- Seoul's subway line No. 9 partially opens, linking the Gaehwa neighborhood in western Seoul and the Shinnonhyeon neighborhood in southern Seoul.

2017 -- The government appoints nine members to a panel tasked with collecting public opinion over whether to end or resume the construction of two nuclear reactors.
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