Conservative Park Geun-hye elected first female president of S. Korea

 SEOUL, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- Park Geun-hye of South Korea's ruling Saenuri Party won the tightly contested presidential election held Wednesday, becoming the first woman to lead the country and extending the conservative rule for another five years.

With 94.5 percent of the votes counted, Park, the 60-year-old daughter of South Korean dictator Park Chung-hee, won 51.7 percent of the vote, becoming the first one to garner¹ more than half of all votes since democratic elections began in 1987.

Her archrival, Moon Jae-in of the main opposition² Democratic United Party, was a close second with 47.9 percent.

Voter turnout was estimated at 75.8 percent, the highest in 15 years, according to the National Election Commission.

"I will become a president who puts people's livelihoods³ before anything else," Park told cheering crowds in central Seoul as she accepted her victory. "I will keep my promises."

Park, who ran on job creation, welfare expansion and engagement with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), had maintained a slight lead in almost all pre-election opinion surveys, though many were within the margin⁴ of error.

As a political veteran with the moniker "queen of elections," Park acted as the de facto first lady to her father after her mother was assassinated⁵ and is credited with reviving the Saenuri Party when it was mired⁶ in a series of devastating⁷ corruption⁸ scandals.

She remains⁹ widely popular among older voters nostalgic for rapid economic growth under the senior Park's 18-year authoritarian¹⁰ rule, while critics point to ruthless suppression of dissidents during his reign¹¹.

Despite dogged opposition criticism of Park for her reluctance¹² to apologize for abuses under her father's watch, the five-term lawmaker proved yet again to be unassailable in key southern cities including her hometown of Deagu.

Moon, a 59-year-old former human rights lawyer who was once jailed for protesting the senior Park's repressive rule, had billed the election as a contest between vested interests and aspirations¹³ for new politics.

"I failed to keep the promise of an era of new politics," Moon said as he conceded defeat in a news conference at the campaign headquarters in Seoul. "I congratulate Park on her victory."

Moon, former chief of staff to late ex-President Roh Moo-hyun, was the sole candidate running on the liberal ticket after independent Ahn Cheol-soo and leftist candidate Lee Jung-hee bowed out of the race to throw their support behind him.

He sought to make the election a judgment¹⁴ call on the unpopular incumbent¹⁵ Lee Myung-bak, but Park successfully distanced herself from the man who had defeated her in the party primary five years ago.

Lee's single five-year term ends early February, 2013.

1 garner   

v.收藏；取得

参考例句：

• He has garnered extensive support for his proposals.他的提议得到了广泛的支持。
• Squirrels garner nuts for the winter.松鼠为过冬储存松果。

2 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

3 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

4 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

5 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

6 mired   

abbr.microreciprocal degree 迈尔德（色温单位）v.深陷( mire的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The country was mired in recession. 这个国家陷入了经济衰退的困境。
• The most brilliant leadership can be mired in detail. 最有才干的领导也会陷于拘泥琐事的困境中。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

8 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

11 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

12 reluctance   

n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿

参考例句：

• The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
• He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。

13 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

14 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

15 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。