Geunhye

Geunhye is a Korean feminine given name (Hangul: 근혜). The meaning of the name varies with the hanja used to write it. It is most widely associated in public discourse with Park Geun-hye, a South Korean politician and former president.

Park Geun-hye (born February 2, 1952, in Daegu) is a South Korean politician who served as the eleventh president of the Republic of Korea from 2013 to 2017. She was the first woman to hold the office. The daughter of former president Park Chung-hee, she rose through the conservative political establishment and pursued national leadership roles within her party over the years.

Her presidency began amid promises of economic reform and stronger alliance with the United States, but it was soon overshadowed by a public corruption scandal involving her close confidante Choi Soon-sil. In December 2016, the National Assembly impeached her, and in March 2017 the Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment, removing her from office.

In 2018 she was convicted on multiple charges, including bribery, coercion, and abuse of power, and was sentenced to a lengthy prison term and fines. She remained imprisoned until a presidential pardon in December 2021, which released her from prison but did not erase the conviction. The Geunhye case remains a significant chapter in South Korea’s political history and continues to influence debates on democracy, governance, and accountability.