The government of South Korea, formally called the Republic of Korea, was founded August 15, 1948 after independence from Japan in 1945
The Yonhap news agency says President Lee Myung-bak is expected to call for nationwide harmony and unity in his National Liberation Day speech. It says U.S. President Barack Obama has sent a congratulatory telegram to Mr. Lee.
The two Koreas, divided shortly after the 1945 liberation, were engaged in a three-year war beginning in 1950. They are still technically at war, with no peace treaty signed at the end of the war in 1953.
(아주경제 송지영 기자)
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com