By Kim Young-jin
German Chancellor Angela Merkel sent Park Geun-hye, the ruling Saenuri Party’s presidential candidate, a letter of congratulations on her nomination, according to party officials.
An official said that Merkel, in the letter, wished “the party and candidate great success.” The congratulations were issued in view of the friendly relations between the German chancellor and Park, who won the nomination Monday.
With the win, Park became the first female presidential candidate of a major political party here. The daughter of the late president Park Chung-hee, she is also the first offspring of a former president to head a ticket.
Merkel is the first female Chancellor of Germany.
The two conservative figures have maintained contact and congratulated each other on their successes in recent years. They met in 2000, when Park visited Germany as the leader of the then-Grand National Party and Merkel the head of the opposition Christian Democrats. The politicians bonded over their similar educational backgrounds in science, with Park majoring in electronic engineering and Merkel in physics.
They met again when Merkel visited the Seoul-hosted G20 summit in 2010. Park attended an event at Ehwa Womans University where Merkel was awarded an honorary doctorate.
The two have shared views on topics such as how the German experience relates to Korean unification. Park said in 2006 that the two shared many similar views.
Merkel is known as one of the world’s most powerful women and for leading efforts to combat economic hardship in Europe. Park, aiming to join those ranks, pledges to make government more efficient and has hinted at efforts to warm ties with North Korea.
Despite her conservative image, Park has maintained rather friendly relations with North Korea, since she met with former late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in 2002.
Cross-border ties have been icy under President Lee Myung-bak, who ended a decade of rapprochement and tied aid to denuclearization steps by Pyongyang.
The presidential election is slated to take place on Dec. 19. Park is leading the presidential race, far surpassing candidates from the opposition camp. Software mogul-turned Seoul National University professor Ahn Cheol-soo has been neck-in-neck competition with Park in various surveys though he has yet to declare his candidacy.