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Ex-President Park visits father's birthplace

Published: 27 May. 2025, 16:13

Former President Park Geun-hye pays tribute at the birthplace of her father, late President Park Chung Hee, in Gumi, North Gyeongsang, on May 27. [YONHAP]

Former President Park Geun-hye visited the birthplace of her father, late President Park Chung Hee, on Tuesday.

The 73-year-old Park paid tribute at a memorial dedicated to her father in Gumi, North Gyeongsang, three days after People Power Party (PPP) presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo paid tribute at the birthplaces of the late President Park and Park's mother, Yook Young-soo, and made a courtesy call on Park Geun-hye.

As part of his efforts to appeal to conservative voters, Kim praised the late president's contributions to Korea's economic development and pledged to help restore the reputation of Park Geun-hye, who was impeached and removed from office in 2017 on charges of bribery and abuse of power.

"I saw candidate Kim Moon-soo visiting my father's birthplace here in Gumi and my mother's birthplace in Okcheon a few days ago, and it made me really want to visit as well," Park told reporters, adding she would visit her mother's birthplace later in the day.

"Isn't the country going through a difficult time in many ways? That's why I've been thinking a lot about my parents," she said, without providing further details.

Her public appearance was widely interpreted as a symbolic gesture aimed at energizing conservative voters ahead of the June 3 presidential election, in which Kim trails the Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung.

The late President Park remains a central figure in Korea's modern history — widely credited by conservatives for driving rapid economic development, but also criticized by liberals for suppression of pro-democracy movements.

Yonhap