Eighteenth President of South Korea
| Life | 1952 |
| Era | 현대 |
| Clan | 고령 박씨 |
Born on 2 February 1952 in Daegu, she graduated in electronic engineering from Sogang University. She entered politics by winning the 1998 by-election in Dalseong County, Daegu, and went on to serve several terms in the National Assembly.
She led the Grand National Party as chair in 2004 and, after chairing its emergency committee in 2011-2012, led the Saenuri Party.
Born on 2 February 1952 in Daegu, she graduated in electronic engineering from Sogang University. She entered politics by winning the 1998 by-election in Dalseong County, Daegu, and went on to serve several terms in the National Assembly.
She led the Grand National Party as chair in 2004 and, after chairing its emergency committee in 2011-2012, led the Saenuri Party.
She won the December 2012 presidential election and took office on 25 February 2013 as the first woman president in Korean history. Events during her term include the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster, the 2015 MERS outbreak and the 2016 closure of the Kaesong Industrial Complex.
The National Assembly voted to impeach her on 9 December 2016, and the Constitutional Court upheld removal on 10 March 2017. She was detained that month and tried; in January 2021 the Supreme Court finalized a sentence including 20 years in prison and a fine in a case centered on the influence-peddling scandal. She received a special pardon on 24 December 2021. Evaluations of these events differ sharply along political lines.