By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
Living as children of celebrity families, headliners or legends is not always easy, as they are likely to live under the influence of their strong family legacy throughout their lives. Their achievements tend to be outshone by their predecessors.
The Wednesday election results, however, showed that a strong background can make offspring even more successful if they use it wisely.
Independent Kim Se-yeon, 36, who defeated rival Rep. Park Seung-hwan of the governing Grand National Party (GNP) in the conservative GNP's stronghold of Busan, gained the spotlight for his family background.
He is the son-in-law of incumbent Prime Minister Han Seung-soo.
Kim, president of Dongil Rubber, was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
His father was the late lawmaker Kim Jin-jae, a successful businessman who served as a five-term lawmaker for the GNP in Busan.
The election results indicated that Kim's rival lost the election largely due to Kim's smart use of his father's reputation.
Park is one of the architects of the cross-country canal project, a signature campaign pledge of President Lee Myung-bak.
The new face in the political arena sought to make the most of his dead father's legacy to overcome his weakness in name recognition in the campaign by introducing himself as the son of the late Rep. Kim.
Kim Eul-dong, a television actress, is another individual reflecting the positive role of a renowned family background in making her parliamentary bid work.
With her joining the parliament, Kim became the first female lawmaker whose father also served as a legislator. Her father was the late Kim Doo-hwan.
Kim's grandfather was Gen. Kim Jwa-jin, an admired independence fighter who fought against Japanese soldiers in mainland China in the 1920s when the country was under Japanese colonial rule.
Kim, 63, won her Assembly seat under the proportional representation system on the ticket of the Pro-Park Geun-hye Alliance.
Regarding her motive to join the political arena, Kim said in a televised speech during the campaign that she admired Park, a former GNP chairwoman, for her ethics, principles and charismatic leadership.
``I'm fully aware that my pursuing a political career might not have turned out the way that I wished it to. I also understood that there were smear politics and mudslinging. But I was determined to seek this career because I am eager to be a seed for change in the political arena,'' she said.
Kim's proactive campaigns for the minor party caused her celebrity son Song Il-kook, a TV drama actor, to be concerned about her well-being after the elections.
Song confessed how he felt relieved and was proud of his mother for winning a parliamentary seat.