Ms. Park is the daughter of Park Chung-hee, who established a military dictatorship and ruled South Korea for nearly two decades until his assassination in 1979.
She is a daughter of former president Park Chung-hee, who stirs mixed feelings among South Koreans. Some claim he was a dictator who stifled opposition; others credit him with overseeing a key phase of South Korea's economic development. He was shot and killed by his intelligence chief in 1979.