SEOUL — The daughter of a former dictator became the first serious female contender for South Korea’s presidency on Monday when she was chosen as the governing party’s candidate for elections in December.
Park Geun Hye, a daughter of President Park Chung Hee, who ruled South Korea from 1961 till 1979, was the first woman and the first child of a former president to become the presidential candidate of a major political party in South Korea. She cited Queen Elizabeth I of Britain as her role model.
Park, 60, won the nomination race of the Saenuri Party by a huge margin, gathering 84 percent of the votes during a party convention.
The remaining ballots were split among four other rivals.
“I will open an era of grand national unity,’’ she said in a speech after winning the race, identifying a divide between regions, generations, and the rich and poor as a main challenge for the next president.
In 2007, Park lost the presidential nomination of her party, then in opposition, to President Lee Myung Bak, whose election brought power back to conservatives after two consecutive liberal presidents: Kim Dae Jung and Roh Moo Hyun. Lee is barred by law from seeking reelection.
Seeking to retain power, the conservatives confront the best and worst of their legacy in Park’s candidacy.
Her father, Park Chung Hee, is the conservatives’ godfather, and his twin bequests of economic growth and political repression still divide South Koreans.
Under Park Chung Hee, the country soared from the ashes of the 1950-53 Korean War and industrialized while maintaining a staunchly anti-Communist stance against North Korea and cherishing a military alliance with Washington.
For elderly South Koreans, especially those in her father’s home province of Gyeongsang in southeastern South Korea, his name is enough for them to vote for Park Geun Hye.
But under the elder Park, the government also persecuted dissidents, often framing and torturing them as Communist subversives. Many of the victims are now opposition leaders.
His economic policy helped a handful of family-controlled and politically connected business enterprises grow into the ‘‘chaebol’’ conglomerates, like Samsung and Hyundai, which spearheaded the country’s export-driven economy but were accused of squeezing smaller businesses at a time of a widening gap between rich and poor.
Park Chung Hee also banned rock music, miniskirts for women, and long hair for men.
Liberals, who seek to retake power, trace their roots to a prodemocracy movement against Park Chung Hee and subsequent dictators.
They champion reconciliation with North Korea.
The main opposition Democratic United Party is scheduled to select its presidential nominee next month.
Park Geun Hye’s aides said she needed to connect with younger voters, who fret over rising youth unemployment and widening income disparity and don’t remember her father’s leadership.
On Monday, she pledged to broaden welfare and fight corruption. She has also indicated she would mend relations with North Korea.