Top 10 News Stories of 2011
The death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and the Arab Spring which has fuelled protests in Arab countries were chosen as the top national and foreign news stories of 2011 respectively, according to The Korea Times annual poll of editors. Here are 2011’s top 10 stories in order:
National
1. Death of N. Korean leader Kim Jong-il
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s death: North Korea’s iron-fisted ruler Kim Jong-il died of a heart attack on Dec. 17, according to North Korean media. The 69-year-old dictator had a stroke in 2008 and suffered from diabetes and heart disease. His third son Jong-un, aged in his late 20s, has taken the helm of the impoverished communist state.
2. Ahn Cheol-soo emerges as strong presidential contender
Ahn Cheol-soo emerges as strong presidential contender: Doctor-turned-IT mogul Ahn Cheol-soo emerged as a strong presidential contender, defeating all major political figures in polls, including interim GNP leader Park Geun-hye.
3. South Korea-US FTA ratified
Korea-US FTA ratified: The free trade agreement (FTA) between Korea and the United States, KORUS FTA, is finally ratified by the parliaments of both countries. It took a boycott by the opposition parties and a deep-running division in society to pass it in Korea.
4. National Election Commission hacking scandal
NEC hacking scandal: Police found that a 27-year-old aide to Rep. Choi Gu-sik of the governing Grand National Party masterminded a cyber attack on Dec. 9 that paralyzed the website of the National Election Commission (NEC) and that of an opposition candidate on election day.
5. Change of Seoul mayor
Change of Seoul mayor: Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon quit midway through his term after an insufficient number of residents turned up at polling stations in a referendum on free school lunch programs on Aug. 24. His resignation led to the election of independent candidate Park Won-soon.
6. Foot-and-mouth disease epidemic
Foot-and-mouth disease epidemic: It was an unseemly sight to see hundreds of thousands of pigs and cattle slaughtered with some of them buried alive at the peak of the foot and mouth epidemic.
7. Campaign to cut university tuition
Campaign to cut university tuition: Students and civic group members took to the streets, demanding President Lee Myung-bak fulfill his campaign promise to cut university tuition by half. The tuition reduction became a political issue, drawing support from the public. Many students were arrested for violent demonstrations.
8. Savings banks go bankrupt
Savings banks busted: Despite regulators’ assurances, savings banks toppled one after another. Thousands of customers saw some of their deposits unprotected and distrust in the government is running high.
9. PyeongChang to host 2018 Winter Olympics
PyeongChang to host 2018 Winter Olympics: The country cheered in triumph at midnight on July 7 (KST) when International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge opened the envelope and awkwardly read the name of PyeongChang as the winning host city for the 2018 Winter Games.
10. K-pop develops worldwide following
K-pop develops worldwide following: This year, K-pop stars pioneered new fans with their catchy songs and dance moves, particularly in Europe.
World
1. Arab Spring
Arab Spring: It began with demonstrations in Tunisia in early January that rapidly toppled authoritarian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. The Arab Spring protests sparked a revolution in Egypt that ousted Hosni Mubarak, fueled a civil war in Libya, and fomented a bloody uprising in Syria against the Assad regime. Bahrain and Yemen also experienced major protests and unrest.
2. Killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden
Killing of Osama bin Laden: He’d been the world’s most-wanted terrorist for nearly a decade, ever since a team of his al-Qaida followers carried out the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. In May, the long manhunt ended with a nighttime assault by a helicopter-borne special operations squad on his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
3. Libya’s Gadhafi toppled
Libya’s Gadhafi toppled: After nearly 42 years of mercurial and often brutal rule, Moammar Gadhafi was toppled by his own people. Anti-government protests escalated into an eight-month rebellion, backed by NATO bombing, and Gadhafi finally was tracked down and killed in the fishing village where he was born.
4. Japan’s earthquake/tsunami
Japan’s earthquake/tsunami: A 9.0-magnitude earthquake hit off the northeast coast of Japan on March 11, followed by a deadly tsunami that battered the nation’s coast, claiming nearly 20,000 lives. The tsunami also caused the worst nuclear crisis since the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, which crippled the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant complex and leaked radiation in its reactors.
5. US-China power struggle for Asia-Pacific region
US-China power struggle for Asia-Pacific region: Amid growing uneasiness in the United States over the rise of Chinese military power, President Barack Obama indicated that America would be looking at increasing its presence in the Asia Pacific. Chinese President Hu Jintao urged his navy to prepare for military combat and advance naval modernization.
6. European financial crisis
European financial crisis: The debt-driven crisis has rattled European nations the whole year. Following Ireland and Greece, Portugal received the IMF bailout fund to pay its debt. Investors grew worried that Italy and Spain needed help.
7. Occupy Wall Street protests
Occupy Wall Street protests: It began Sept. 17 with a protest at a New York City park near Wall Street, and within weeks spread to major cities across the nation and abroad. The movement aired its complaint that the richest 1 percent of Americans benefit at the expense of the rest.
8. Death of Apple founder Steve Jobs
Death of Apple founder Steve Jobs: The cofounder of Apple Inc. who transformed people’s lives with the iPod, iPad and iPhone died on Oct. 5. Steve Jobs suffered from pancreatic cancer, and he was 56 when he died.
9. US troops’ pullout from Iraq
US troops’ pullout from Iraq: U.S. forces completed withdrawal from Iraq nearly nine years after the invasion to topple Saddam Hussein. The withdrawal ended a war that left tens of thousands of Iraqis and nearly 4,500 American soldiers dead after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion unleashed brutal sectarian fighting.
10. IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s sex scandal
IMF chief’s sex scandal: Dominique Strauss-Kahn resigned as the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) following accusations of sexually assaulting a maid at a New York hotel in May.