Her Story
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Park Geun-hye, chairperson of the Grand National Party, delivering a speech in
support of her political party’s candidate for the National Assembly, April 25, 2006
In 2004, the sixth year after Park Geun-hye entered politics as a lawmaker, her party, the Hannara-dang (Grand National Party) was accused of having received illegal campaign funds from companies in the 2002 presidential election. Moreover, its attempt to impeach President Roh Moo-hyun caused a severe backlash. It lost its majority in the National Assembly in the general election held in April. The Grand National Pary was on the verge of disintegration.
Nobody dared to take the helm and try to extricate the shipwrecked party from crisis. But Park Geun-hye accepted the party’s request to take the chair and met the challenge head on.
She began by selling the party headquarters. She set up a tent on an empty lot and used that as the party headquarters. She bowed her head and apologized to the people of the country, promising that her party would never receive any illegal political or campaign funds.
For the first time in Korea, she adopted a bottom-up nomination system for candidates for the National Assembly to open up the doors to young people across the country. She also transformed the party into a policy-centered, legislation-oriented, digitally savvy political party.
She rapidly and resolutely completed the democratization of the party’s operations, a first for the country.
She demonstrated innovative leadership and a willingness to change by deciding to set up a tent in an open field as the party headquarters. She won people’s hearts.
Park Geun-hye, chairperson of the Grand National Party, moving
to the party headquarters set up in tents, March 24, 2004
During her 25-month term as the party chairperson, the Grand National Pary defeated the ruling party in all elections, securing all 40 open seats.
Park Geun-hye was the first chairperson of a South Korean political party not to be dragged down during his or her leadership term. When she stepped down, she emerged as the party’s strongest candidate for president.
Leading Her Political Party Out of Crisis
Park Geun-hye, chairperson of the Grand National Party, delivering a speech in support of her political party’s candidate for the National Assembly, April 25, 2006
Nobody dared to take the helm and try to extricate the shipwrecked party from crisis. But Park Geun-hye accepted the party’s request to take the chair and met the challenge head on.
She began by selling the party headquarters. She set up a tent on an empty lot and used that as the party headquarters. She bowed her head and apologized to the people of the country, promising that her party would never receive any illegal political or campaign funds.
For the first time in Korea, she adopted a bottom-up nomination system for candidates for the National Assembly to open up the doors to young people across the country. She also transformed the party into a policy-centered, legislation-oriented, digitally savvy political party.
She rapidly and resolutely completed the democratization of the party’s operations, a first for the country.
She demonstrated innovative leadership and a willingness to change by deciding to set up a tent in an open field as the party headquarters. She won people’s hearts.
Park Geun-hye, chairperson of the Grand National Party, movingto the party headquarters set up in tents, March 24, 2004
Park Geun-hye was the first chairperson of a South Korean political party not to be dragged down during his or her leadership term. When she stepped down, she emerged as the party’s strongest candidate for president.