Park Geun-hye becomes South Korea’s first female President
Park Geun-hye becomes country’s South Korea’s first female leader after rival candidate Moon Jae-in concedes defeat.
The daughter of South Korea’s former military ruler has won the country’s presidential election, promising in a speech to her supporters to heal a “divided society”.
photo by ASDFGH via wikimedia commons
The win over her liberal rival Moon Jae-in on Wednesday makes Park Geun-hye the country’s first female head of state.
The office of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak congratulated party colleague Park on her win, even before officials had finished counting votes.
The 60-year old conservative Park will now return to the presidential palace where she served as her father’s first lady in the 1970s, after her mother was assassinated by a North Korea-backed gunman.
With 92 per cent of the national vote counted, Park had an insurmountable lead of 51.6 per cent to the 47.9 per cent of Moon, her liberal rival, according to the country’s election commission.
“This is a victory brought by the people’s hope for overcoming crisis and economic recovery,” she said. “I will be a president who fulfills in every way the promises I made to the people.”
The election was marked by a high turnout of more than 75 per cent, compared to 63 per cent in the 2007 presidential poll.
Park has promised strong leadership that would steer the country through the challenges of global economic troubles.
“I have no family to take care of and no children to pass wealth to. You, the people, are my family and your happiness is the reason that I stay in politics,” Park, who has never been married, said in a televised press conference on Tuesday.
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