The victory of Park Geun-hye as President of Korea is a big step for women in Korea and East Asia

I would like to extend my heartiest congratulations to the newly elected President of South Korea, Park Geun-hye, who is also the first woman President of South Korea.

The election of Park is most meaningful to the East Asian countries where women have always been regarded as second class citizen. Her victory is a big encouragement not only to women of Korea but also to women in Asian region in general.

This is not Park Geun-hye's first attempt in contesting in the Korean general elections. She has failed before but yet she stayed on and tried again and again. So her victory was achieved by her tireless attempts, and it has been a winding road of struggle.

I hope Park's victory will help to elevate women's status in East Asian countries, as well as to encourage more women to participate in social and political arena in order to build a gender-balanced society.