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Park Geun-Hye becomes First Female President

South Korea’s new President Park Geun-Hye 2013 Inauguration Ceremony

South Korea’s first female President Park Geun-Hye is new president wave a greeting to citizens.

Conservative candidate Park Geun-Hye waves to supporters after arriving at her party headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 19. Kim Jae-Hwan/AP

Seoul, South Korea 

Park Geun-hye won a decisive victory Wednesday after a bitterly fought election for president of South Korea in which she overcame criticism of her legacy as the daughter of long-ruling dictator Park Chung-hee. In so doing, she also overcame traditional barriers to women in government and business to become the first woman to win her country’s presidency.

With nearly all votes counted, and a commanding 3.6 percentage point lead over liberal candidate Moon Jae-in, Ms. Park entered her party headquarters to loud cheers from conservative party leaders and thanked them for all their “effort and time” – and for turning out in freezing temperatures. Next, she climbed into her limousine and headed to central Seoul, where thousands cheered her for winning an election that many analysts said would end in a virtual dead heat.

11th President of South Korea

Park Geun-hye (Hangul: 박근혜; Korean pronunciation: [pak.k͈ɯnhe]; born 2 February 1952) is the eleventh and current President of South Korea. She is the first woman to be elected as President in South Korea, and is serving the 18th presidential term.   Prior to her presidency, she was the chairwoman of the conservative Grand National Party (GNP) between 2004 and 2006 and between 2011 and 2012 (the GNP changed its name to “Saenuri Party” in February 2012). Park was also a member of the Korean National Assembly, and had served four consecutive parliamentary terms as a constituency representative between 1998 and 2012; starting her fifth term as a proportional representative from June 2012. Her father was Park Chung-heePresident of South Korea from 1963 to 1979.   She is generally considered to be one of the most influential politicians in Korea since the presidencies of the two Kims: Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung.

Under the glare of huge spotlights in front of the palace of bygone Korean kings, Park vowed to be a “president of the people” and to keep her promise to reinvigorate a stagnating economy and fight for reunification with North Korea.

“I’m going to make this happen,” she said amid the din of cheers.”

Far from eking out a marginal victory, Park maintained an unexpectedly high lead as returns poured in from ballots cast by more than 25 million people. Nearly 80 percent of eligible voters went to the polls –  more than expected – in what many saw as a test of support for conservative economic policies and a firm stance against North Korea.

 

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