Park Geun-hye vows reconciliation, unity

President-elect Park Geun-hye meets Sung Kim, U.S. ambassador to Korea, at the headquarters of the Saenuri Party, Thursday. She also received courtesy calls from China, Japan and Russia envoys. (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald)

South Korea's president-elect Park Geun-hye pledged Thursday to create national reconciliation and grand social unity on the path to sharing the fruits of economic growth and ushering in a new era for the Korean peninsula through diplomacy of confidence, or what she calls “trustpolitik”.

Park, who clinched a majority win in the Wednesday election to become Korea’s first woman president, vowed to utilise fairness to sever the chain of extreme division and conflict that has lasted for the past half century.

“It is my dream and wish to bring happiness to each and every one of you and create a 100 per cent happy Republic of Korea by recruiting people of each region, gender and generation to maximise the role of the country’s hidden talents,” Park said in a press conference at the party’s headquarters in Yeouido.

Park will be taking office from Feb 25, 2013, as Korea’s 18th president, after beating Moon Jae-in of the main opposition Democratic United Party 51.55 per cent to 48.02 per cent.

She also offered a courteous acknowledgement to her rival, saying, “I believe that when it comes to serving the Republic of Korea and caring for the people who are the owners of this country, candidate Moon and I had stood the same. I will constantly remind myself of this in the future while running the administration.”

Park also reiterated her will for cooperation, saying at her campaign disbanding ceremony, “Although our victory is precious, it is also important to look after and support those who did not support us. I will manage the state by regarding the opposition party as a valuable partner.”

With regard to the evolving regional dynamics around Korea, Park said at the earlier conference, “North Korea’s long-range missile launch symbolically showed how grave our security reality is, while the concerns for the regional conflict among Northeast Asian (countries) and of the global economic crisis loom large.”

“I will definitely keep to the promise with the people to open a new era of the Korean peninsula through sturdy security and trustpolitik,” she added.

Kick-starting her diplomatic moves, Park was visited by the ambassadors Sung Kim of the US, Zhang Xinsen of China, Koro Bessho of Japan and Konstantin Vnukov of Russia in the afternoon at her office in Yeouido.

Cooperation is crucial among these four countries that have undergone leadership changes this year, amid simmering historical tension with Japan, intensifying rivalry between the US and China, and the continuous threat from North Korea.

Formation of her transition committee is expected to be her first testing ground as she vows to embrace all sides in her state administration.

Past president-elects have announced the chairman and members of the transition committee around December 25, and launched the team before the year end. The law states that the committee must be comprised of a maximum of 26 members including the chairman and the vice chairman.

Party sources suggested that the formation of Park’s team may be later than the usual schedule in order to avoid excessive attention and to secure ample time for assessment. Some also said an unexpected external figure may head the committee, considering her record of recruiting unconventional high-profile outside figures to head her major campaign machines.

Economist-turned-politician Kim Chong-in, for instance, headed her overall preparation of presidential pledges, while former judge Ahn Dae-hee took charge of her political reform moves. Former opposition party chairman Han Gwang-ok joined her committee on grand unity as senior vice chairman.

It also remains to be seen how Park will also follow through her earlier proposal to hold a joint conference of the national leaders including the representatives of the rivaling parties to discuss the statecraft.

Earlier in the day, as her first official task as president-elect, Park visited Seoul National Cemetery and paid respects to the graves of former presidents Rhee Syng-man, her father Park Chung-hee, and Kim Dae-jung.

After the press conference, Park also paid a visit to the graves of her former aide Lee Choon-sang and PR team manager Kim Woo-dong, who were killed in a car crash on the campaign trail earlier this month.

The security around the president-elect was also reinforced from Wednesday night as armed police forces guarded her residence in southern Seoul and Cheong Wa Dae’s bodyguards joined her.