Today in Korean history

April 9

1962 -- South Korea establishes diplomatic relations with Israel.

1965 -- South Korea signs a trade agreement with West Germany.

1975 -- Eight South Korean university students convicted of trying to overthrow the government are executed just 20 hours after a court sentenced them to death. They were among 23 college students arrested on rebellion charges as part of a government crackdown on dissident movements.

1993 -- Kim Jong-il (Feb. 16, 1941-Dec. 17, 2011) is named the chairman of North Korea's National Defense Commission by the Supreme People's Assembly, succeeding his father and then North Korean leader Kim Il-sung (April 15, 1912-July 8, 1994) as the communist state's defense chief. Kim Jong-il assumed complete control of the communist state after his father and North Korea founder died in 1994. He was succeeded by his son and incumbent leader Kim Jong-un.

1999 -- Hosni Mubarak, the president of Egypt, visits South Korea, becoming the first Egyptian leader to come to Seoul.

2003 -- South Korea and the United States agree on the early relocation of the American military's Yongsan garrison outside of central Seoul.

2004 -- Seoul issues a travel ban for Iraq in the wake of the kidnapping of South Korean missionaries in the war-torn country.

2010 -- A Seoul district court acquits former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook of the charge of receiving money from a local businessman while in office.

2017 -- The salvaged Sewol ferry is relocated onto land, embarking on the final stage of the transfer nearly three years after its sinking. The 6,835-ton ferry Sewol sank in waters off the southwestern island of Jindo on April 16, 2014, resulting in the deaths of over 300 people.

2018 -- Former President Lee Myung-bak is indicted on 16 counts of corruption for taking millions of dollars in bribes and abusing his power in a scandal that centers on a company that prosecutors accuse Lee of owning and disguising it as his brother's. The indictment made Lee, president from 2008-2013, South Korea's fourth former leader to face criminal trial.

2021 -- Iran releases a South Korean oil tanker and its captain about three months after they were seized over alleged oil pollution.
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