In a closely contested presidential elec-tion held on Wednesday in the Republic of Korea, Park Geun-hye, the conservative ruling New Frontier Party candidate, beat her liberal rival Moon Jae-in to make history as the country's first female leader. How she will deliver her pre-election promises and create "a new era" for Asia's fourth-largest economy will have far-reaching significance for the 29th-richest country in the world and beyond.

As the daughter of former ROK president Park Chung-hee, Park's victory is believed to have been aided by her fellow countrymen's nostalgia for her father's 18-year rule, which helped to lift the ROK from poverty to developed-nation status. Her efforts to play down her conservative stance and make her views different from those of current President Lee Myung-bak have also paid off.

During Lee's five years in office, the ROK's export-driven economy has slowed down due to the global economic crisis. Social inequality and a high youth unemployment rate have made Lee increasingly unpopular.