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| A military band rehearses at the National Assembly Sunday on the eve of the inauguration of the nation's 18th president, Park Geun-hye. Yonhap |
By Kim Tae-gyu
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| 18th President Park Geun-hye |
Park Geun-hye will take the oath of office as the country's 18th president today at the National Assembly with around 70,000 Koreans and foreign diplomatic guests witnessing the swearing-in ceremony.
Because Park took the executive power as of Sunday midnight, Korea will have its first female leader in its modern history.
At her inaugural speech, Park, the daughter of the late former President Park Chung-hee, is expected to stress the need to seek national unity to counter the widening gap between the rich and poor, and heal the social discord.
Park, who has pledged to promote people's happiness, will also elaborate on measures to create more jobs, promote welfare, and bolster national security and safety, officials from the organizing committee for the inauguration said.
After the ceremony, Park will send off her predecessor, President Lee Myung-bak. Then she will take part in a car parade near parliament, before she heads for Cheong Wa Dae.
The new chief executive will take part in a banquet with diplomatic delegates and around 1,000 representatives from various groups and organizations.
Park faces difficult tasks ahead.
The Korean economy has slowed down so much that the number of new quality jobs continues to head south, which raises great concerns along with the rising household debts.
On top of the deep-seated regional antagonism, demographic conflicts is on the rise as more young people are feeling upset and frustrated by their inability to secure good jobs.
As economic polarization results in negative chain reactions in other segments, the integration of society has emerged as a significant national agenda.
North Korea is another headache for the first female commander-in-chief because of its controversial rocket launch last December as well as the detonation of nuclear devices this month amidst massive international criticism.
She is expected to highlight outlines of her policies and philosophies to grapple with the tall tasks at the half hour inaugural address where she is expected to reiterate that she will open up a new era where people are happy based on more jobs, better welfare and stronger security.
Park is also predicted to reaffirm her key campaign pledges of integrating society through addressing the social polarization by increasing engagement and communication.
They are in line with Park's recently-announced five major tasks of a creative economy centered on jobs; tailor-made employment and welfare; a creative education and culture; a safe and integrated society; and preparation for a happy unification.
It remains to be seen what her North Korea policies are. Initially, Park was widely projected to employ less hawkish approaches toward Pyongyang compared to her predecessor, departing President Lee Myung-bak, as her signature North Korea policy "Korean Peninsula trust process" shows.
It was geared toward stabilizing long-stalled inter-Korean relationships through Seoul's more flexible stance to Pyongyang.
However, recent maneuvers of the North have triggered concerns whether the two Koreas will be able to make things better as Park said that her administration will become more decisive when necessary under the "trust process."
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