Today in Korean history

May 18

1970 -- South Korea establishes diplomatic relations with Cambodia.

1980 -- The May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement takes place. Tens of thousands of students and other citizens stage demonstrations in the southwestern city of Gwangju protesting against then military junta leader Chun Doo-hwan, who took power in a military coup a year earlier.

1983 -- Opposition leader Kim Young-sam starts a hunger strike, calling for democracy in South Korea.

1998 -- Golfer Pak Se-ri wins the U.S. LPGA championship in Delaware.

2001 -- Former South Korean soldiers admit to killing and burying innocent civilians in Gwangju in 1980, when tens of thousands of citizens staged demonstrations for democratization. The admission came during an interview with the Presidential Truth Commission on Suspicious Deaths that was released May 18.

2002 -- Kim Hong-gul, the youngest son of then President Kim Dae-jung, is arrested on bribery charges.

2007 -- North Korea names Pak Ui-chun, 75, a former ambassador to Russia, as its new foreign minister. The post had been vacant since his predecessor, Paek Nam-sun, died in January.

2013 -- North Korea launches three short-range guided missiles into the sea off the Korean Peninsula's east coast. The Seoul government detects two launches in the morning, followed by another in the afternoon.
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