Park Geun-hye: Difference between revisions

Park Geun-hye 박근혜 朴槿惠
Chairperson of the Saenuri Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 17 December 2011
Preceded by	Hong Jun-pyo
In office 23 March 2004 – 10 July 2006
Preceded by	Choi Byeong-ryeol
Succeeded by	Kang Jae-sup
First Lady of South Korea Acting
In office 16 August 1974 – 26 October 1979
President	Park Chung-hee
Preceded by	Yuk Young-soo
Succeeded by	Hong Gi
Member of the National Assembly for Dalseong
Incumbent
Assumed office 3 April 1998
Preceded by	Kim Suk-won
Personal details
Born	(1952-02-02) 2 February 1952 (age 72) Daegu, South Korea
Political party	Saenuri Party
Alma mater	Sogang University
Website	Official website Cyworld Twitter

Template:Korean name Park Geun-hye (Korean: 박근혜; Hanja: 朴槿惠; born 2 February 1952) is a South Korean politician. She was the chairperson of the conservative Grand National Party between 2004 and 2006 and has been the leader of the party since Grand National Party changed its name to Saenuri Party in February 2012. She is a member of the Korean National Assembly; She served four consecutive parliamentary terms since 1998 as a Constituency Representative, and will start her fifth term as a Proportional Representative from May 2012. Her father was Park Chung-hee, president of South Korea from 1963 to 1979. She is considered the most influential politician in Korea since the three Kims (Kim Young Sam, Kim Dae Joong, Kim Jong Pil)^[1] and the top candidate to be the next president of South Korea, with a 37.0% approval rating as of April 2012^[2]

Park was born on February 2, 1952 in Samdeok-dong of Jung-gu, Daegu, as the first child of Park Chung Hee and Yuk Young-soo. She has a younger brother Park Ji-man and a yonger sister Park Seo-yeong.

Park graduated from Seoul's Seongsim High School in 1970, going on to receive a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Sogang University in 1974. She received a honorary doctoral degree from Chinese Culture University in Taiwan in 1987, Pukyong National University and KAIST in 2008, and Sogang University in 2010.

Park lost her mother to Mun Segwang (문세광), a Korean Japanese assassin, a member of General Association of Korean Residents in Japan under the command of the North Korean government in the National Theater of Korea, Seoul on 15 August 1974.^[3] Since then, she was regarded as first lady until 1979 when her father was also assassinated by his own intelligence chief, Kim Jae Gyu (김재규) on 26 October 1979. During this time, activists who were political opponents of her father were claimed to be subject to arbitrary detention, and human rights were considered subordinate to economic development.^[4] In 2007 Park Geun-hye has expressed regret at the treatment of activists during this period.^[5]

Park was elected an assemblywoman as a Grand National Party (GNP) candidate in Dalseong, Daegu in 1998 by-election, and elected three more times in the same electoral district between 1998 and 2008, being the incumbent assemblyperson as of April 2012. In 2012, Park announced that she would not run for a Constituency Representative seat for the 19th election in Dalseoung or anywhere else, but for a Proportional Representative position for Saenuri Party instead in order to lead the party's election campaign. She was elected as a Proportional Representative in the April 2012 election.

After the severe defeat in 2004 General Election, GNP appointed Park as its chairperson. Park helped her party in 2006 to make significant gains in local elections and actually obtain a majority. During the campaign on 20 May 2006, Ji Chung Ho, a 50-year old criminal with 8 previous convictions slashed Park's face with a small knife, causing a 12-centimeter wound on her face, requiring 60 stitches and hours of surgery.^[6]

A famous anecdote happened in 2006 when Park was hospitalized after an assassination attempt during local election campaigns. The first word that she said to her secretary after her recovery from her wound was "How is Daejon?" After this, the candidate from the Grand National Party won the election for the mayor of city of Daejon despite trailing by more than 20% point in opinion polls up to the point. In addition, during Park's term as the GNP chairperson between 2004 and 2006, the party won all 40 reelections and by-elections held, which is largely credited to Park's influence and efforts.^[7][8] This feat gave Park a nickname "queen of elections".

On 12 February 2007, Park made a much-publicized visit to Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her visit culminated in an address to a packed audience at the Kennedy School of Government, where she said she wanted to "save" Korea and advocated a stronger relationship between the Republic of Korea and the US.^[9]

Park hoped to emulate her father's success by becoming the nominee for the Grand National Party. She eventually lost to Lee Myung-bak by a narrow margin. Lee had a commanding lead at the beginning of the primary season, but Park was able to narrow the gap through allegations of Lee's corruption. Park won the 'party member's bid', but she lost the 'national bid' which covers more percentage in the total presidential bid.

After the 2007 presidential election, President Lee Myung-bak formed the government mostly with his surrounding people.^{[citation needed]} Park's supporters argued that this was a kind of 'political reprisal', and that they should secede the Grand National Party.^{[citation needed]} Eventually, they formed parties named Pro-Park Alliance (친박연대; Chinbak Yeondae) and Solidarity for Pro-Park Independents (친박 무소속 연대; Chinbak Musosok Yeondae). Park herself did not join them, but indirectly supported them by announcing "I hope these people to come back alive". After the mass secession, the rebels announced that they will be remerged into GNP after the general election; GNP prohibited that rejoining.

In the following 2008 general election, the rebels won 26 seats: 14 in Park's Party and 12 Independents. It means their pivotal role for GNP's narrow majority. Park continually claimed that GNP should allow the return of her supporters. As of 2011 most of them came back to GNP, resulting in approximately 50–60 assembly people who supports Park out of 171 in GNP as of 2011.

As a response of dwindling approval rating of GNP, the party formed an Emergency Committee and changed the name of the political party from the Grand National Party (한나라당) to 'Saenuri Party' (새누리당), meaning 'new frontiers party'. In 19 December 2011, Park was appointed as the chairwoman of GNP's Emergency Committee, de facto leader of the party.

Park has been the top candidate for 2012 presidential election in every national-level polls in South Korea between 2008 when Lee Myung Bak administration began and September 2011, with an approval rating of about 25%–45%, more than twice that of the second candidate. Park's approval rating was highest when 18th National Assembly election showed her strong influence and and lowest in early 2010 as a result of her political stance against Lee administration in Sejong City issue.^[10]

In September 2011, Ahn Cheol-Soo (안철수), a former venture IT businessman and the Dean of Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology, Seoul National University, emerged as a strong independent candidate for presidency. In national-level presidential polls in September 2011, Ahn and Park Geun Hye closely compete for the front-runner, with Park losing the top seat in some polls, first time since 2008,^[11] which are mostly not clearly performed on established methods.^{[citation needed][12]}

After appointed as the chairwoman of GNP's Emergency Committee in 2011, Park has closely competed with Ahn in national polls. For example, in a poll by KBS in February 2012, Park was the top presidential candidate with the approval rating of 30.9% versus Ahn with 24.9%.^[13]

Park had been often criticized for being the "daughter of a dictator" mainly by Korean left-wing politicians^[14][15] and for not actively supporting the Lee administration by supporters of Lee Myung-Bak. One of degrading nicknames for her is "Notebook Princess" (수첩공주; 手帖公主), as she grew up as a privileged child in the "royal" presidential family and has been very taciturn, only speaking publicly from prepared manuscripts sometimes.

Park has faced much scrutiny over an educational foundation, formerly known as Buil (after the stock it controls in the newspaper Busan Ilbo), which her father and later she headed. Its original owners claim in court they were forced to turn it over to her father. ^{[citation needed]}

• 평범한 가정에 태어났더라면 by Park Geun-hye (November 1993) ISBN 200-1-04-400020-7
• 내 마음의 여정 by Park Geun-hye (Hansol Media, May 1995) ISBN 8-985-65650-3
• 고난을 벗삼아 진실을 등대삼아 (Befriending Adversities, Truth as Guiding Light) by Park Geun-hye (Busanilbo, October 1998) ISBN 8-987-23624-2
• 결국 한 줌 결국 한 점 (In the End Only a Fistful, One Speck) by Park Geun-hye (Busanilbo, October 1998) ISBN 8-987-23625-0
• 나의 어머니 육영수 (My Mother, Yuk Young Su) by Park Geun-hye (January 2001) ISBN 8-985-54154-4
• 절망은 나를 단련시키고 희망은 나를 움직인다 by Park Geun-hye (WisdomHouse, July 2007) ISBN 8-960-86033-6

• Politics of South Korea
• Park Chung Hee
• Grand National Party
• Saenuri Party

• Official website
• "Star Rises for Daughter of South Korea", The Washington Post, 15 March 2005.
• "Park Geun Hye's Dictatorial Heritage", The Hankyoreh, 27 July 2004.
• "Park Geun-hye Elected New GNP Chairperson", The Chosun Ilbo, 23 March 2004.
• Watch Park Geun-hye at the JFK Jr. Forum at Harvard University on 2/12/07
• GNP flings hard queries at its own leaders, JoongAng Ilbo, 20 July 2007.

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