S. Korea swears in 1st female leader

Park calls on North to abandon nuke ambition

SEOUL, Feb 25, (Agencies): Park Geun-Hye became South Korea’s first female president Monday, vowing zero tolerance with North Korean provocation and demanding Pyongyang “abandon its nuclear ambitions” immediately.

As leader of Asia’s fourth-largest economy, Park, the 61-year-old daughter of late military strongman Park ChungHee, faces challenges of slowing growth and soaring welfare costs in one of the world’s most rapidly ageing societies.

Taking the oath of office less than two weeks after North Korea carried out its third nuclear test, Park called on the regime in Pyongyang to “abandon its nuclear ambitions without delay” and rejoin the international community.

“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,” she said.

“I will not tolerate any action that threatens the lives of our people and the security of our nation,” Park said, while promising to pursue the trustbuilding policy with Pyongyang that she had promised in her campaign.

“I will move forward step by step on the basis of credible deterrence,” she added.

Outcry

Observers say her options will be limited by the international outcry over the North’s Feb 12 nuclear test, which has emboldened the hawks in her ruling conservative party who oppose closer engagement.

There was no immediate reaction from Pyongyang, but an editorial Monday in the ruling Workers’ Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun carried a clear message for Park to avoid the “confrontational” policies of her predecessor Lee Myung-Bak.

“Inter-Korean relations have become so tense that the Korean peninsula is threatened with armed conflict,” the newspaper warned.

Monday’s two-and-a-half hour inauguration ceremony, held on a chilly and cloudy morning, included a musical warm-up concert that saw Korean rapper Psy perform his global hit “Gangnam Style”.

Park took office a little more than 50 years after her father, a vehement anticommunist, seized power in a military coup. Park Chung-Hee ruled with an iron fist for the next 18 years until his assassination, and remains a divisive figure — credited with dragging the country out of poverty but reviled for his regime’s human rights abuses.

Speech

The bulk of Park’s inauguration speech focused on the economy, and included commitments to job creation, expanded welfare and “economic democratisation” at a time of growing concern with income and wealth disparity.

South Korea’s extraordinary economic revival from the rubble of the 1950-53 Korean War — known as the “Miracle on the Han” — has faltered in recent years, with key export markets hit by the global downturn.

Promising “another miracle”, Park said her administration would build a new “creative economy” that would move beyond the country’s traditional manufacturing base and focus on science and technology.

In a clear warning to the giant, family-run conglomerates, or “chaebols”, that dominate the national economy, Park promised a more level playing field and a “fair market” where small and medium-sized businesses could flourish.

“By rooting out various unfair practices and rectifying the misguided habits of the past which have frustrated small business owners... we will provide active support to ensure that everyone can live up to their fullest potential,” she said.

Growth

Chaebols such as Samsung and Hyundai were the original drivers of the nation’s industrialisation and economic growth, but have been criticised as corporate bullies who muscle out smaller firms and smother innovation.

South Korea’s journey from wartorn poverty to economic prosperity has done little to break the male stranglehold on political and commercial power in what in many ways remains a very conservative nation.

As South Korea’s first female president, Park leads a country that is ranked below the likes of Suriname and the United Arab Emirates in gender equality.

The country with the developed world’s biggest gender income gap now has its first female president, but Park Geun-hye already has South Koreans wondering whether she’ll improve the status of women in a society still dominated by men.

Wearing a traditional Korean dress of red and gold silk, Park strode up the steps of the presidential Blue House after her inauguration Monday. So far, she has chosen only two women to join her in top positions - two less than a male liberal predecessor.

Park faces expectations that she will do something about pervasive sexism, and many other issues. Those include authoritarian rival North Korea, which conducted a nuclear test two weeks ago and warned Monday of a fiery death for Seoul and its ally Washington.

Rifts

South Korea also struggles with deep societal rifts that many trace back to the 18-year dictatorship of Park’s father. With a stagnant economy and job worries, there’s pressure for Park, a member of the conservative ruling party, to live up to campaign vows to return to the strong economic growth her father oversaw - the so-called Miracle on the Han River.

Park’s election in December was an important moment for women in South Korea, who on average earn nearly 40 percent less than men, the largest gap among the 26 member nations of the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development. South Korean women are often paid less for doing the same work as men and seldom rise to the top of high-profile industries.

During her presidential campaign, Park criticized “traditionally male-centered politics” for corruption and power struggles, saying that “South Korean society accepting a female president could be the start of a big change.”