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Impeachment of Roh: On March 12, President Roh Moo-hyun was impeached in a 193-2 vote by the opposition-dominated National Assembly, which suspended his presidency pending a Constitutional Court ruling. Two opposition parties - the Grand National Party (GNP) and Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) - led the unprecedented impeachment motion against Roh, based on two charges. The main complaint was that Roh had violated his neutrality as president by publicly making remarks in support of the then minority Uri Party, which supports him, in a press conference ahead of the parliamentary elections in April. Roh was also accused of receiving illegal campaign funds from big businesses during his 2002 presidential campaign. The Constitutional Court, however, exonerated Roh as six of the court's nine judges overturned the motion in the impeachment hearings. The court found Roh had violated the election law but said the transgressions were not grave enough to oust the head of state. |
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'Hallyu (Korean Wave)': Who could have predicted that one little soap opera could do so much? Starring Bae Yong-joon, now better known across the continent by his Japanese nickname, "Yonsama," the melodrama "Kyoul Yonga (Winter Sonata)" spearheaded this year's "Hallyu (Korean Wave)" phenomenon, becoming a huge hit in neighboring Asian countries. |
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Deployment of Zaytun Unit: Zaytun ("olive" in Arabic) Unit, South Korea's peacekeeping troops for peace and rehabilitation work in Iraq, completed its deployment in September. The National Assembly approved the additional troop dispatch to Iraq in February at the request of the United States, which is South Korea's main ally and the government went ahead with the plan despite strong repercussions from the public and some lawmakers at Kim Sun-il's beheading. Stationed in the Kurdish-controlled northern Iraqi town of Irbil, the 3,600-strong unit is now composed of both combat and non-combat medics. The National Assembly is about to approve a one-year extension motion for the Zaytun Unit on Dec. 30. |
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Al-Qaida Killing of Korean: Kim Sun-il, an interpreter at a South Korean firm supplying foodstuffs to the U.S. military in Iraq, was beheaded by an al-Qaida-linked insurgent group at the end of June. Kim's dead body was found near Baghdad. The video footage showing Kim pleading for his life shocked the entire nation and the Associated Press later came under criticism as it was found that the news agency had the videotape before it was made public by Al-Jazeera, an Arabic television station. The beheading, which followed the South Korean government's reiteration of its plan to send troops to the war-torn Iraq, was met with horror and anger by the South Korean public and sparked a debate on whether the government should go ahead with the dispatch. |
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Economic Recession: The number of Korean consumers who believe their living standards dipped to the worst level this year was even more than that during the 1997-98 financial crisis. Markedly, consumer sentiment has deteriorated the most among high-income earning households with a monthly income of more than 3 million won. The consumer sentiment index gauging expectations for living standards for the coming six months stood at 86.6 in November 2004, lower than the 86.7 recorded in December 1998. Policymakers estimated the growth in private consumption for this year will stay at minus 0.9 percent. |
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Serial Killer: Yoo Young-chul was arrested in July for murdering 20 young women and wealthy elderly people. He was found to have buried 11 bodies on a hill in northern Seoul after cutting them into pieces from September last year to July. His killing spree shocked the nation as his motive for the crimes was based on blind hatred for the innocent victims. He was sentenced to death on Dec. 13. |
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Exam Cheating by Cell Phones: Several hundred students cheated in the Nov. 17 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) using cell phones, raising questions about education reform and the negative effects of state-of-the-art mobile technology. The test scores of 312 applicants were invalidated for cheating with mobile text messages and hiring substitute exam-takers. Police first detected the problem in the southwestern city of Kwangju, but later found that cheating had occurred nationwide. |
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Human Embryo Cloning: Seoul National University professor Hwang Woo-suk and his research team caught the world by surprise early this year by succeeding in creating human embryos through cloning and extracting embryonic stem cells, which can develop into any kind of cell in the body. The biotechnological feat is believed to provide a ray of hope in treating chronic illnesses such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, although substantial applications are still years away. Hwang said clinical trials may be possible in a decade.
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Uri Party Wins Polls: The impeachment vote against the head of state on "minor charges" provoked public outrage at opposition parties. The issue arguably helped the Uri Party triple its representation by winning a majority of 152 seats in the 299-member Assembly in the April 15 elections, giving President Roh a chance to govern the nation with the majority backing. The Millennium Democratic Party which initiated the impeachment motion against Roh with the Grand National Party won only nine seats and the conservative GNP lost its majority status by winning 121 seats.
Ruling Against Capital Move: A controversial government plan to relocate the nation's capital to South Chungchong Province was suspended after the Constitutional Court ruled against it on Oct. 21. The decision dealt a severe blow to President Roh Moo-hyun, who had pledged to move the capital out of Seoul during the 2002 presidential campaign. The Roh administration is set to come up with an alternative plan to build a special administrative city to appease the anger of the residents of the Chungchong provinces, who have held massive rallies to protest against the ruling.
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Bush Wins Second Term: Despite growing doubts among voters over the handling of the war in Iraq, U.S. President George W. Bush won a second term in the presidential elections in November after a record 59 million Americans chose him over Democrat John Kerry, while also voting to expand Republican control over Congress. Bush's total vote was the biggest ever and his slice of the vote, 51 percent, made him the first president to claim a majority since 1998, when his father won with 53 percent against Democrat Michael Dukakis. |
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Arafat Passes Away: Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was flown to Paris for medical treatment, leaving nearly three years of Israeli-imposed confinement at his compound in the West Bank town of Ramallah. He died at age 75 in early November, triggering mourning among Palestinians, but also sparking hopes of a breakthrough in efforts to end the long, bloody conflict with Israel. For three decades, Yasser Arafat was a hero to most of his fellow Palestinians, but was considered unreliable by leaders in the West and Israel. |
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Terrorist Attacks Escalate: Throughout 2004, Iraq suffered bloody turmoil. But terrorists also attacked other targets across the globe, many of which were linked to the U.S. In a stunning strike in March, 190 people were killed after bombs hidden in backpacks exploded on four commuter trains during Madrid's morning rush hour. Terrorist attacks also occurred in Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Egypt, Israel and Turkey, including against the Australian embassy in Jakarta, resorts on the Sinai Peninsula and the U.S. consulate in Jeddah. A band of terrorists killed more than 330 hostages - most of them children - in a hostage crisis in the Russian town of Beslan in September. |
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High Oil and Weak Dollar: Jitters over potential disruptions to production in the key oil producers of Nigeria, Russia, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and Iraq drove crude prices above $55 a barrel - a record high - in late October, raising concerns of damage to global economic growth. Meanwhile, the U.S. currency weakened in international markets, sparking complaints from other nations in Europe and Asia, since the weak dollar made U.S. goods cheaper and damaged the sales of trading partners' products in the U.S. Bush made a statement supporting a strong dollar. |
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European Union Expands: The European Union added 10 new members in May, swelling its ranks to 25 nations. The 10 countries consisted of eight in Eastern Europe - Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia - plus Cyprus and Malta. Two more countries, Bulgaria and Romania, may join in 2007. Turkey is also expected to start membership talks in 2005. |
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NASA Rovers on Mars: The American space agency's two rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, landed on Mars early this year, finding the clinching evidence that potentially life-supporting water once existed on the surface of the Red Planet. While the environment would have been harsh, and the water salty and acidic, scientists believe bugs such as those found living in extreme conditions on Earth could have survived it. The findings suggest that billions of years ago, when Mars was warm and wet, the planet may have been a cradle for life. The findings about ancient Martian water was recognized as the top `Breakthrough of the Year' by the Journal Science. |
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Hope, Controversy Over Stem Cell Research: Stem cell research moved to the forefront of discussions in medical science this year, generating both hope and controversy. This much-debated but still experimental field of study has great potential in yielding treatments for diabetes, heart disease, neurological ailments and other illnesses. But stem cell biology is also replete with unanswered questions. Conservatives say such research is immoral because it involves the destruction of embryos - human babies - in the laboratory. Despite the opposing views, stem cell research has won support across political and ideological lines while polls show that a majority of Americans support it. U.S. supporters are seeking to have legislation passed to encourage research on a federal level despite opposition from Bush.
Global Warming Continues: Alarm bells on serious global warming rang loudly this year as participants from nearly 200 nations attended a U.N. conference on climate change in Buenos Aires this month. Global warming is set to continue, bringing extreme weather, including hurricanes and droughts, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The year 2004 is the fourth-hottest since record keeping began 150 years ago. Just two months before the Kyoto Protocol on cutting carbon dioxide emissions goes into force following Russia's ratification, the U.S. and European Union worked out a modest deal to inch ahead in the international effort to put a cap on global warming.
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China in Transition: Former President Jiang Zemin turned over his last major post as chairman of the commission running China's military to his successor, Hu Jintao, in mid- September, completing the country's first peaceful leadership transition since its 1949 revolution. In the meantime, China expects to record growth of at least 9 percent this year, and will see only a slightly lower rate in 2005. The Beijing government is attempting to rein in the expansion of the world's fastest-growing major economy to more sustainable levels by changing economic policies. With booming trade, investment and domestic spending, China is expected to remain a major engine of global growth.
Abu Ghraib Scandal: Photographs came to light showing U.S. military guards at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad forcing naked Iraqi detainees to pose in humiliating positions. Prosecutions followed, and the scandal fueled anti-American sentiment in the Muslim world. |
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