Events of 2019 in South Korea.

Incumbents

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Moon Jae-in Moon Jae-in (; ; born 24 January 1953) is a South Korean former politician, civil servant and lawyer who served as the 12th president of South Korea between 2017 and 2022. Prior to his presidency, he served as Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs an ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Lee Nak-yeon Lee Nak-yon (; born 20 December 1952), also known as Lee Nak-yeon, is a South Korean politician who served as the 41st Prime Minister of South Korea from 2017 to 2020. A member of the Democratic Party of Korea, he is the longest-serving prime ...

Events

* April 3 –

2019 South Korean by-elections The 2019 South Korean by-elections was held in South Korea on 3 April 2019. 2 seats to the National Assembly of South Korea were contested. Reasons for by-elections The following Members of National Assembly lost or resigned from their seat ...

* April 11 – A court rules 7–2 that a 1953 ban on abortion must be lifted. * July 1 – Japan announces tightening of high-tech exports to South Korea, thus begin the trade dispute between the two countries. * August 22 –

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

announces that it will scrap its

General Security of Military Information Agreement GSOMIA is an acronym for 'General Security of Military Information Agreement', mainly known for a bilateral military treaty for exchange of military information between Japan and South Korea. History The agreement was signed on 23 November 20 ...

(GSOMIA) with Japan. The agreement had been due for automatic renewal on this month. * August 28 –

's Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls in the

United States ambassador to South Korea The United States Ambassador to South Korea () is the chief diplomatic representative of the United States accredited to the Republic of Korea. The ambassador's official title is "Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States ...

Harry B. Harris Jr. Harry Binkley Harris Jr. (born August 4, 1956) is a retired American diplomat and retired U.S. Navy officer. He was the first American of Japanese descent to lead US Pacific Command in the U.S. Navy and was the highest-ranking American of Japanes ...

, to tone down the United States' public criticism of

's decision not to renew its

(GSOMIA) with Japan. * August 29 – The United States Ambassador to

, is absent from the

DMZ A demilitarized zone (DMZ or DZ) is an area in which treaties or agreements between nations, military powers or contending groups forbid military installations, activities, or personnel. A DZ often lies along an established frontier or bounda ...

International Forum on the Peace Economy. And a reservist soldiers' Korean Veterans Association cancels Harris Jr.'s speech for the association's event. He attends the grand opening of a

Shake Shack Shake Shack is an American fast casual restaurant chain based in New York City. It started out as a hot dog cart inside Madison Square Park in 2001, and its popularity steadily grew. In 2004, it received a permit to open a permanent kiosk with ...

branch in

Jongno Jongno or Jong-ro ( ko, 종로), literally meaning "Bell Street", is a trunk road and one of the oldest major east–west thoroughfares in Seoul, South Korea. Jongno connects Gwanghwamun Plaza to Dongdaemun. The area surrounding Jongno is a p ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

. The first

in South Korea was opened in the

Gangnam District Gangnam District ( ; , ) is one of the 25 local government districts which make up the city of Seoul, South Korea. Gangnam translates to "South of the (Han) River". Gangnam District is the third largest district in Seoul, with an area of . A ...

on July 22, 2016.

Deaths

* January 28 –

Kim Bok-dong Kim Bok-dong (19 April 1926 – 28 January 2019) was a Korean woman who became a human rights activist that campaigned against sexual slavery and war rape. She was a young woman who was put into sexual slavery by the Japanese Imperial Army; a ...

, South-Korean women's rights activist (b. 1926). * April 7 –

Cho Yang-ho Cho Yang-ho (; sometimes written Y. H. Cho; 8 March 1949 – 8 April 2019)Fred A. Bernstein ''The New York Times'', June 7, 2009, Accessed June 8, 2009. was a South Korean businessman who was the chairman and chief executive officer of Korean Ai ...

, South Korean businessman (b. 1949). * June 10 –

Lee Hee-ho Lee Hee-ho, sometimes spelled as Lee Hui-ho, (; 21 September 1922 – 10 June 2019), was a South Korean women's rights activist, peace advocate and former First Lady of South Korea during the presidency of her husband Kim Dae-jung from 1998 to 2 ...

, South Korean peace activist, 15th

First Lady of South Korea The first lady of the Republic of Korea (, informally referred to as FLOTROK or FLOSK), commonly known as the first lady of South Korea, is the titled held by the hostess of the Presidential Residence of South Korea, presidential residence, usual ...

(b. 1922). * June 29 –

Jeon Mi-seon Jeon Mi-seon (December 7, 1970 – June 29, 2019) was a South Korean actress. Though best known as a supporting actress in films and television series such as ''Memories of Murder'' (2003), ''Moon Embracing the Sun'' (2012), and ''Hide and Seek ...

, South Korean actress (b. 1970). * July 16 – Chung Doo-un, South Korean politician (b. 1957). * July 24 – Hwang Byungsng, Korean poet * July 24 –

Nam Gi-nam Nam Gi-Nam (April 17, 1942 – July 24, 2019) was a prolific South Korean director of movies, cartoons and TV series. Born in Gwangju, South Korea, he graduated from Sorabol Art College. He made his debut in 1972 in film, 1972 with ''Don't Cry My ...

, Korean film director * August 30 – Park Taesun, South Korean writer * September 9 – Kim Seong-hwan, South Korean artist and cartoonist, notable for having created and perpetuated the longest-running comic strip in Korea. * September 21 – Woo Hye-mi, Korean singer * October 14 –

Sulli Choi Jin-ri (March 29, 1994 – October 13 or 14, 2019), better known by her stage name Sulli (), was a South Korean actress and singer. She first made her debut as a child actress, appearing as a supporting cast member on the SBS historical d ...

, South Korean singer and actress (b. 1994) * November 24 –

Goo Hara Goo Hara (; January 3, 1991 – November 24, 2019), also known mononymously as Hara, was a South Korean pop singer and actress. She was a member of the girl group Kara, and had also appeared in television dramas including ''City Hunter'' (201 ...

, South Korean singer and actress (b. 1991) * December 3 –

Cha In-ha Cha In-ha (July 15, 1992 – December 3, 2019) was a South Korean actor best known for starring in ''The Banker'', ''Clean with Passion for Now'', and ''Love with Flaws''. He was a member of the actor group Surprise U. Biography Cha In-ha was ...

, South Korean actor (b.1992) * December 9 –

Kim Woo-jung Kim Woo-Choong (December 19, 1936 – December 9, 2019) was a South Korean businessman who was the founder and chairman of Daewoo Group until its collapse in 1999. Background Born in Daegu, he was the son of the provincial governor. He was a ...

. South Korean businessman who was the founder and chairman of the Daewoo Group * December 14 –

Koo Cha-kyung Koo Cha-kyung () (24 April 1925 – 14 December 2019) was a South Korean business executive. He was the chairman of LG Group from 1970 until his retirement in 1995. He took the company public in 1970 and was chairman during the company's growth ...

, South Korean business executive

References

{{Year in Asia, 2019

Years of the 21st century in South Korea 2010s in South Korea