Today in Korean history

May 11

1937 -- The Japanese colonial regime orders 100,000 Koreans to move to Manchuria in northeastern China in an attempt to make it easier for Japan to invade China and to weaken Korea's independence movement. The descendants of those Koreans, living in villages named after their hometowns, are now Chinese nationals. Japan colonized Korea from 1910-1945.

1965 -- The South Korean government severs diplomatic relations with the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) after the West African state normalizes ties with North Korea.

1997 -- Survivors or relatives of those who were killed during a May 1980 crackdown on large-scale demonstrations against then-military leader Chun Doo-hwan in the southeastern city of Gwangju receive the National Merit Award.

1999 -- Hundreds of members of the Manmin Jungang Church, a Protestant sect in northern Seoul, storm into the headquarters of MBC, blocking the television station from airing a documentary critical of their leader. Sect leader Lee Jae-rok reportedly compared himself to Jesus and claimed a handkerchief he touched could heal the sick.

2001 -- The Seoul District Court allows Dong-Ah Construction Co. to go into bankruptcy.

2004 -- Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jung-eun, who succeeded her husband Chung Mong-hun after his suicide in mid-2003, arrives in North Korea to discuss inter-Korean economic projects. During her four-day visit, Hyun met with officials from the Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, Hyundai's North Korean business partner, to exchange views on the Mount Geumgang tourism project and the construction of an industrial complex in Kaesong, a city on the border with South Korea.

2009 -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Uzbek President Islam Karimov agree to significantly strengthen ties between their countries, noting their strategic partnership is mutually beneficial. The agreement came in a joint statement issued at the end of a summit held in the Uzbek capital.

2010 -- Samsung Electronics Co. and its affiliates will spend 23.3 trillion won (US$20.63 billion) on environmental and health care businesses by 2020 as part of efforts to create future growth engines. The investment will focus on such areas as solar cells, rechargeable cells for hybrid electric vehicles and light-emitting diode (LED) technologies.

2013 -- A former presidential spokesman who was fired after becoming embroiled in a sex scandal while accompanying President Park Geun-hye on her first trip to the United States denied allegations of having sexually assaulted a young American woman who worked for him during the visit.

2017 -- President Moon Jae-in accepts the resignation of Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, a holdover from the former government, on his second day in office. Hwang had served as acting president for months since former President Park Geun-hye was impeached over a corruption scandal in December.
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