Unwanted name for namesakes: Park Geun-hye

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Tue, August 22, 2017 | 00:43

Diseases & welfare

Unwanted name for namesakes: Park Geun-hye

Posted : 2017-06-22 16:44

Updated : 2017-06-23 10:48

In Seoul alone, 18 people have changed their name from Park Geun-hye this year. / Yonhap

By Lee Han-soo

People with the same name as Park Geun-hye, the former president who is now on trial for corruption after being impeached in March, are flocking to the district Family Court to have their names changed.

In Seoul alone, 18 people have changed their name from Park Geun-hye this year.

"Even before the Choi Soon-sil scandal, people would say ‘you have the same name as our president' or ‘maybe you will become a politician someday,'" said Park Geun-hye, who recently applied to change her name, told Chosun Ilbo, a Korean news outlet.

The court accepts most applications for renaming after a Supreme Court precedent in 2005 that states: "Unless there is a special reason, an individual can change their name in order to guarantee their rights."

A court official said: "Every time there is a social uproar over an incident, people with the same name as the person involved tend to apply for a new name at once."

corea022@ktimes.com