Five contenders stood on the podium at Monday’s national caucus of the ruling Saenuri Party, but the spotlight focused on former chairwoman Park Geun-hye from beginning to end when she was named the party’s presidential candidate in a landslide vote.

Thousands of supporters and delegates chanted “Park Geun-hye” as she marched down the aisle with sheepish-looking rivals, effectively transforming the party’s biggest convention in five years into Park’s stomping ground.

For Park, it was a long-awaited accomplishment that came after a begrudging nomination failure in 2007, and years of fighting off internal power struggles and external challenges against the main opposition Democratic United Party.

But the fanatical endorsement of her by the party represents what she needs to overcome in the remaining four months until the Dec. 19 presidential election, political observers said.

“In order to win the presidency, Park will need to transform her image deeply associated with the past and execute a full-fledged reform of herself and her surroundings,” said politics professor Yoon Pyung-joong of Hanshin University.

Park is impugned by the younger and moderate voters and attacked by her opponents for her association with her late father and his controversial dictatorship rule in the 1960s and the 1970s.

Park’s unwavering refusal to discuss primary rule changes demanded by the underdogs further solidified her image as a dominant leader of the ruling party.

“Park’s fatal disadvantage is that she represents the past, while her biggest opponent for the time being, professor Ahn Cheol-soo, represents the future,” Yoon said.

Ahn has been closely trailing behind Park in various popularity polls, despite not yet declaring his presidential ambition.

The DUP, which is gearing up for its primary race beginning this weekend, pledges to execute a heated race noticeably different from the predictable one in the Saenuri Party, and hopes to win Ahn’s participation down the road.

Politics professor Yoon Seong-yi of Kyung Hee University said the key therefore would be to win over the moderates and the undecided with a distinctive vision on policies and disassociation with the past.

“From the people’s point of view, the policies proposed by Park and her opponents differ little for now. They would need to distinguish them in more detail, such as in their approaches in executing conglomerates’ reform,” Yoon said.

“The public also wishes to be able to deem Park Geun-hye as a potential next president, not just as a daughter of former President Park Chung-hee, and she must provide the citizens an opportunity to do that by offering an objective evaluation of the past,” he added.

Park has already received a series of attacks by the DUP over her family background, including her controversial stance on the May 16 coup, which she had earlier commented was not a coup but an inevitable choice for the sake of the nation.

Most recently, the DUP has upped its ante against Park by highlighting suspicions related to the death of Chang Chun-ha, who was a Korean independence and democracy activist. Chang’s supporters and surviving family have raised allegation that he was murdered by Park Chung-hee’s agents.

Her past association with the Jeongsu Foundation, which the opposition claims was taken by force by Park Chung-hee, as well as corruption allegations surrounding her brother, are likely to be some of the attack points open to the DUP.

“It is my hope that our politics focus on the future and not be bogged down by the past. We have so many tasks at hand to tackle. We should be constructive,” Park said during a question-and-answer session with the press.

Rallying in-party support for a successful presidential campaign is also considered to be Park’s mission.

Park’s camp is expected to reach out to the four defeated contenders as well as Reps. Lee Jae-oh and Chung Mong-joon, who dropped out the race early on after the primary rule debacle, for their cooperation.

Park’s nomination to potentially be the first woman president in Korean history, meanwhile, garnered avid international attention as well.

The Saenuri Party on Sunday said it has received a letter from German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who wished the party a successful presidential election.

In the letter, written in German, Merkel reportedly said she was certain the Saenuri Party would acquire the people’s credibility.

Park later explained that she shares a pleasant friendship with Merkel and that she deeply appreciated such a gesture.

By Lee Joo-hee (jhl@heraldcorp.com)