President-elect to set new records

By Jun Ji-hye

The president-elect will set new records, regardless of whether it is the Saenuri Party’s Park Geun-hye, the Democratic United Party’s (DUP) Moon Jae-in or independent Ahn Cheol-soo.

If Park wins in the December poll, she will be the nation’s first female president. America has still to elect a female president ― Hillary Rodham Clinton, currently serving as secretary of state, ran in the Democratic Party’s 2008 primary but was beaten by Barack Obama.

The daughter of the late President Park Chung-hee would also be the first generational change as head of state ― father and daughter ― and the first to hold the role of both first lady and president after acting as the former following her mother, Yook Young-soo, being assassinated by a pro North Korea infiltrator on Aug. 15, 1974.

She would also be the first unmarried president and the first who studied engineering at university ― she majored in electronic engineering at Sogang University, graduating in 1974.

If Moon moves into Cheong Wa Dae, he will be the first president after serving as a chief presidential secretary. He worked for the late President Roh Moo-hyun’s administration from March, 2007 to February, 2008.

He would also be the first president to have majored in law, having studied the subject at Kyung Hee University in 1980. Roh passed the bar exam but only graduated high school.

If Ahn is elected without allying with a political party, he would become the first independent president. Some see South Korea's first President Syngman Rhee as an independent but scholars generally don’t accept that notion as he belonged to a party established to promote Korean independence.

Ahn would be the first company owner-to take office too. He founded computer antivirus developer AhnLab in 1995 and served as CEO till 2005.

He would be the nation’s first leader to have worked as a doctor and university professor and the first to hold an MBA.