At midnight on Sunday 24 February, Park Geun-hye became the 11th President of the Republic of Korea - 34 years after her father Park Chung-hee was assassinated serving his country, and nearly 40 years after she briefly held the role of first lady following her mother's murder by a North Korea assassin.
Park’s family name will forever be etched in Korean history, although the circumstances of her election success are vastly different to those of her father. Park Geun-hye won an enthralling battle with her democratic candidate rival Moon Jae-in in December’s voting, whereas her father – a still much-loved character – seized power in 1961 through a military coup when Geun-hye was nine years old.
In front of tens of thousands of people on a bitterly cold Monday morning in Seoul, Park Geun-hye took the oath of office. The bright wintry sun was a rather misleading setting as Park begins her five-year term with dark forces looming in every direction.
Unsurprisingly, North Korea – who recently made global headlines following their third nuclear test – featured heavily in Park’s inauguration speech. Yonhap News Agency’s assertion that “South Korea is struggling to rein in an unruly North Korea” means that Pyongyang will be her toughest challenge.
In the election campaign, the issue of North Korea was seen as of secondary importance to that of the economy, on which Park struggled badly during the TV debates. Yet days before the South Korean people went to the polls in December, the North successfully launched a rocket which many analysts may have swung the election in her favour.
Moreover, this latest nuclear episode has refocused minds further. “North Korea’s recent nuclear test is a challenge to the survival and future of the Korean people, and there should be no mistake that the biggest victim will be none other than North Korea itself,” said Park in her inauguration speech. “I urge North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions without delay and embark on the path to peace and shared development.”
North Korea, meanwhile, branded former President Lee Myung-bak a “traitor” as he left office. A spokesperson for the Workers’ Party spoke of their satisfaction that Lee was exiting the presidential office after the “crimes” and “lies” supposedly committed during his five-year term.
Elsewhere, President Park was compelled to address fears over a faltering economy and an ever-widening gap between the country’s rich and poor. She must also deal with gender inequality and education reform, among others. Experts in the US believe that Seoul-Washington relations are likely to rise further, but Park is warned about the potential impact of this on China. Beijing remains Korea’s biggest trading partner.
The new president must also deal with growing tensions with Japan over the rights to Islands known variably as Dokdo (in Korea), Takeshima (in Japan) and the Liancourt Rocks (internationally). Korea claims sovereignty over Dokdo, but has been in dispute with Japan for 50 years. Former President Lee was the first sitting president to visit the islands when he did so last year – sparking a major row with Japan, and a major nationwide boycott of Japanese products to mark this day on 1 March. Online images showed the logos of UNIQLO, Toyota, Asahi and many others with a big X splashed across the front.
And so begins the term of South Korea’s first female president. She has plenty of detractors to win over, in what could be a very telling five-year spell. The stabilisation of the Korean economy and the safety of its people rest on her shoulders now.
Andrew Farrell works as an English language teacher in Korea.
