South Korea elects first female president
20 Dec 2012 8:45 AM IST
South Korea elected its first female president on Wednesday, handing a slim but historic victory to conservative ruling party candidate Park Geun-Hye, daughter of the country’s former military ruler.
As leader of Asia’s fourth-largest economy, Park, 60, will face numerous challenges, handling a belligerent North Korea, a slowing economy and soaring welfare costs in one of the world’s most rapidly ageing societies. With 85 per cent of the national vote counted, Park had an insurmountable lead of 51.6 per cent to 48 per cent over her liberal rival, Moon Jae-In of the main opposition party.
The election was largely fought on domestic economic issues, with both candidates offering similar policies as they went in search of centrist voters beyond their conservative and liberal bases. Park had pushed a message of ‘economic democratisation’ - a campaign buzzword about reducing the social disparities thrown up by rapid economic development - and promised to create new jobs.
As leader of Asia’s fourth-largest economy, Park, 60, will face numerous challenges, handling a belligerent North Korea, a slowing economy and soaring welfare costs in one of the world’s most rapidly ageing societies. With 85 per cent of the national vote counted, Park had an insurmountable lead of 51.6 per cent to 48 per cent over her liberal rival, Moon Jae-In of the main opposition party.
The election was largely fought on domestic economic issues, with both candidates offering similar policies as they went in search of centrist voters beyond their conservative and liberal bases. Park had pushed a message of ‘economic democratisation’ - a campaign buzzword about reducing the social disparities thrown up by rapid economic development - and promised to create new jobs.
Next Story
