January: Subway workers strike

Unionized workers of Seoul Metro planned a walkout to protest against the company’s working hour extension.

February: Covid-19

The novel coronavirus believed to be originated from Wuhan, China, hit the nation hard and brought 14 deaths as of February.

March: Nth room

A severe sexual violation case victimizing even children and teenagers rocked the country in March. Offenders created the so-called ‘Nth room,’ a chat room on the Telegram messenger app, to sexually abuse dozens of victims including minors.

April: General election

South Korea held a general election on April 15 in which the ruling Democratic Party won a landslide victory.

May: Yoon Mee-hyang

Yoon Mee-hyang, a leading activist for wartime sex slave victims in South Korea, was under the prosecution investigation on charges of misappropriating funds donated to the victims.

June: Random attack at Seoul station

A man got caught after randomly assaulting a woman in her 30s at Seoul station. Police said he punched her in the face and ran away but was arrested a week after the attack.

July: Former Seoul mayor Park Won-soon

Seoul mayor Park Won-soon was found dead on July 10 in his apparent suicide after a former female employee of his had filed a sexual harassment claim against him.

August: Typhoon

Bavi, the season’s eighth and one of the strongest typhoons, slammed the country with the southern regions coming under the most severe influence.

September: Vaccine

Public anxiety heightened over the safety of flu vaccines after some vaccines were reported to have been exposed to room temperature and almost 100 South Koreans died after receiving seasonal flu shots. Health authorities denied any correlation.

October: Lee Kun-hee

Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee, one of the most important figures in the Korean business sector, died at the age of 78.

November: Joe Biden

Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump to become the 46th U.S. president with a pledge to unite the country suffering from one of the worst pandemic crisis in the world.

December: Yoon Seok-yeol

Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol emerged as a frontrunner in a presidential election survey as his popularity has been growing amid the war with Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae.

By Pulse

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]