TOPIC

/ people

Park Geun-hye

Park Geun-hye is the daughter of South Korea's former dictator, the late president Park Chung-hee. On December 19, 2012, Park - a Conservative - narrowly won the election to make history as South Korea's first female president. Born on February 2, 1952, she was the chairwoman of the conservative Grand National Party (GNP) between 2004 and 2006 and between 2011 and 2012 (the GNP changed its name to Saenuri Party in February 2012). Park has already served as South Korea's first lady, after her mother was killed in the 1970s.

Born

2 Feb 1952

Industry

Politics

Job Title

Former President of South Korea

Park Geun-hye

South Korea’s conservatives attempt break from Yoon with martial law apology

Yoon Suk-yeol’s former ruling party has offered a belated mea culpa, but critics see the move as nothing more than a cynical election ploy.

South Korea’s Yoon on trial: what’s at stake?

Martial law, memes and mayhem: the rise and fall of Yoon Suk-yeol

.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Explainer | How South Korea’s president Yoon could be impeached

Critics accuse Yoon Suk-yeol of committing a crime akin to treason when he declared martial law. Here’s how his impeachment could play out.

In South Korea, Samsung boss acquitted in succession suit related to 2015 merger

The ruling could ease the legal troubles surrounding the Samsung heir, less than two years after he was pardoned of a separate conviction of bribery in a corruption scandal that helped topple a previous South Korean government.

South Korean police send 14-year-old boy who attacked MP to mental facility

An assailant who repeatedly struck a South Korean lawmaker with a rock as she tried to resist was a 14-year-old boy who was sent to a mental health facility on Friday,

South Korean ruling party MP hospitalised after attack, ‘15-year-old’ arrested

The attack on Bae Hyun-jin comes about a month after the country’s opposition party leader was stabbed in the neck while talking to reporters in the city of Busan.

Bye-bye Blue House: South Koreans peek inside for first time in 74 years

South Korea’s new president Yoon Suk-yeol has opened the Blue House to the public as part of his pledge to abandon the presidential palace and establish his offices at a Defence Ministry compound.

South Korea singer denies song satirises presidential hopeful Yoon’s wife

Yoon Suk-yeol, opposition candidate, criticises An Chi-hwan’s track for ‘crossing certain lines’; some say song is about Yoon’s wife Kim Keon-hee but singer says it’s about mastermind behind disgraced former President Park Geun-hye.

Ex-fans grapple with loving stars-turned-criminals in documentary Fanatic

South Korean film student Oh Se-yeon talks to the Post about her documentary Fanatic, a film festival hit that examines what happens to fans when they see their K-pop idols accused of crimes.

‘Levitating’ mystic in South Korea’s presidential race offers voters US$85k

Heo Kyung-young’s claims to be able to levitate and work miracles have left him open to ridicule, but his more down-to-earth targeting of corrupt politicians have some calling him a saviour of the working class.

South Korean court upholds 20-year jail term for ex-president Park

The ruling means Park, who was ousted from office and arrested in 2017, potentially serves a combined 22 years behind bars

Japan-South Korea deadlock to remain, despite Biden’s push for mend in ties

The neighbours’ differences over wartime labour compensation are deep, and they are unlikely to fundamentally resolve the issue, observers say.

What happens when K-pop meets the Communist Party?

Many Chinese millennials are obsessed by Korean boy and girl bands but K-pop has been turned into a political hot potato by Beijing.

Lee Kun-hee, force behind Samsung empire, dead at 78

Lee Kun-hee transformed the small television maker into a global giant of consumer electronics.

Samsung heir charged with stock manipulation over 2015 merger deal

Prosecutors said Lee committed breach of trust and other offences when two Samsung units merged in 2015, which gave him greater control of the group.

How Samsung heir used an unusual option to undercut corruption case

The all-male group – including professors, schoolteachers and two Buddhist monks – gathered on Friday after Lee invoked a rarely used option to review legal cases.

Korean cults: missing link in Covid-19, Sewol ferry, Park’s downfall

It’s not just the coronavirus and the Shincheonji Church. Cults have been linked to a host of Korean scandals, from the Sewol ferry disaster to a president’s impeachment.

How South Korea’s growing protest movement resembles Brexit

The resounding success of the Tories in Britain has its echoes in Seoul, where hundreds of thousands rebel against Moon. The two situations have differences, but in both the middle and working classes have grown weary of out-of-touch leftists.

Samsung heir ‘wrongfully’ freed from jail, South Korean court rules

The Supreme Court ordered the retrial of Lee, who was convicted for bribery in a case that helped bring down former president Park Geun-hye. The decision comes as Samsung faces headwinds caused by global trade disputes.

Explainer | Samsung heir’s corruption case a new test for firm hit by trade disputes

Samsung Group heir Lee Jae-yong faces a return to jail if the Supreme Court rules against him in a high-profile corruption case, potentially dealing a further blow to the group which is already suffering as a result of export curbs by Japan and the US-China trade war.

From Singapore to Manila, how Asia sees Hong Kong protests

The marches that involved an estimated 2 million people have inspired a range of views from the region’s citizens and direct action veterans. Some see hope in Hongkongers’ audacity, while others go from condemnation to ambivalence.

Letters | From Seoul, a message of unity to Hong Kong protesters

The 2016 marches against then president Park Geun-hye sparked attempts to paint protesters as North Korean supporters. Hongkongers opposed to the extradition bill must resist attempts to divide them, whatever their political differences.

Hong Kong protests ‘hit raw nerve’ with Koreans, spurring support

More than 20,000 Koreans sign a petition urging action from President Moon Jae-in as many remember their own history of protest.

What fortune-tellers told Korea’s disgraced president Park about Xi

The predictions, delivered to the disgraced former president by police, covered a range of topics from diplomacy and national security to the economy and the president’s personal luck.

How Moon’s anti-corruption scheme threatens South Korean democracy

If Moon can create a special new agency to investigate corruption, we can expect him to use it against his political opponents, who have been emboldened by his failing diplomatic and domestic policies.

Giant killers: the shareholder ‘ants’ taking on Korea’s Chaebol

The family-run conglomerates that power South Korea’s economy have long been above listening to individual shareholders – or ants. But as the scandals mount, and take down presidents, those ants are fighting back.

Court extends sentence of former South Korea president Park to 25 years

The Seoul High Court finds that Park colluded with a friend, Choi Soon-sil, to receive tens of billions of won from major conglomerates to help Choi’s family and fund non-profit foundations owned by her.

Explainer | How South Korea’s president Yoon could be impeached