South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea

Contemporary history 
 
President Kim Dae-jung, the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize recipient for 
advancing democracy and human rights in South Korea and East Asia 
and for reconciliation with North Korea, was sometimes called the 
"Nelson Mandela of Asia."
[107]
 
In June 2000, as part of President Kim Dae-jung's "Sunshine Policy" of engagement, a North–
South summit took place in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea.
[108]
 Later that year, Kim 
received the Nobel Peace Prize "for his work for democracy and human rights in South Korea 
and in East Asia in general, and for peace and reconciliation with North Korea in 
particular".
[109]
 However, because of discontent among the population for fruitless approaches to 
the North under the previous administrations and, amid North Korean provocations, a 
conservative government was elected in 2007 led by President Lee Myung-bak, former mayor of 
Seoul.
[110]
 Meanwhile, South Korea and Japan jointly co-hosted the 2002 FIFA World 
Cup.
[111]
 However, South Korean and Japanese relations later soured because of conflicting 
claims of sovereignty over the Liancourt Rocks.
[112]
 
 

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South Korea became the first non-G7 chair of the G-20 when it hosted 
the 2010 Seoul summit.  
In 2010, there was an escalation in attacks by North Korea. In March 2010 the South Korean 
warship ROKS Cheonan was sunk killing 46 South Korean sailors, allegedly by a North Korean 
submarine. In November 2010 Yeonpyeong Island was attacked by a significant North Korean 
artillery barrage, with 4 people dying. The lack of a strong response to these attacks from both 
South Korea and the international community (the official UN report declined to explicitly name 
North Korea as the perpetrator for the Cheonan sinking) caused significant anger with the South 
Korean public.
[114]
 
South Korea saw another milestone in 2012 with the first ever female President Park Geun-
hye elected and assuming office. The daughter of former President Park Chung Hee, she carried 
on a conservative brand of politics.
[115]
 President Park Geun-hye's administration was formally 
accused of corruption, bribery, and influence-peddling for the involvement of close friend Choi 
Soon-sil in state affairs. There followed a series of massive public demonstrations from 
November 2016,
[116]
 and she was removed from office.
[117]
 After the fallout of Park's 
impeachment and dismissal, elections were held and Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party won 
the presidency, assuming office on May 10, 2017.
[118]
 His tenure saw an improving political 
relationship with North Korea, some increasing divergence in the military alliance with the 
United States, and the successful hosting of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
[119]
 In April 
2018, Park Geun-hye was sentenced to 24 years in jail because of abuse of power and 
corruption.
[120]
 The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the nation since 2020. That same year, 
South Korea recorded more deaths than births, resulting in a population decline for the first time 
on record.
[121]
 
In March 2022, Yoon Suk Yeol, the candidate of conservative opposition People Power Party, 
won a close election over the Democratic Party candidate by the narrowest margin ever. Yoon 
was sworn in on May 10, 2022.
[122]
 
Geography