From a maverick female CEO to a former political enemy, Park Geun-hye’s campaign team has no shortage of egos loved and hated by the public.

The member of her cadre that stands out most is Kim Sung-joo, the chairwoman and CEO of Sungjoo Group and MCM Holdings AG.

With her short spiky hairdo, bold makeup, fearless manner and signature red sneakers, Kim sticks out from the crowd of stiff, middle-aged figures in dark suits.

In announcing Kim as one of the four co-chairs of the election committee last month, Park said, “I invited her to join as I was deeply impressed by her exceptional intelligence and capacity.”

Party sources say Kim’s life resonates the mixture of messages that Park wishes to share: As a daughter of late Daesung Group founder Kim Soo-keun, Kim refused family support and started her career from the ground up, eventually becoming a successful businesswoman on her own. Kim thus represents the message of women, challenge and success, the sources argue.

Her bold manner, however, has already placed her at the center of debate, such as by her comment that criticized women who cite child care as a hurdle to getting jobs.

Park’s pan-partisan choices, meanwhile, brought mixed reactions. While her appointment of former Democratic United Party leader Han Gwang-ok brought about heated internal strife, the participation of former Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Kyung-jae was seen to well represent Park’s unity drive.

Kim entered politics by assisting former President Kim Dae-jung in 1972 and spent more than 15 years in the United States in exile after protesting the rule of former President Park Chung-hee, Park’s father. Kim had also helped former President Roh Moo-hyun win his election in 2002. Upon Roh’s defection to the Uri Party, he became one of Roh’s sharpest critics. Kim serves as the special adviser on planning at the Committee for Korea’s 100 percent and Grand Unity.

Former Constitutional Court chief justice Kim Yong-joon is a well-respected former judge who graduated summa cum laude from Seoul National University School of Law, and became the first Supreme Court justice to have suffered polio.

“The simple fact that (Kim Yong-joon) came to our party shows our determination to well realize the values of the Constitution,” Park had said.

Another noteworthy member is John Linton, director of the Severance Hospital International Health Care Center, who joins the unity committee. He was the first foreign national to be given citizenship for his contribution to Korea. He helped establish the emergency medical system in 1993.

His family has made major contributions to Korean society since his grandfather arrived in Korea in 1895 as a missionary. Linton is also devoted to humanitarian support for North Korea and has visited the North 23 times since 1997.

Kim Kyu-hwan has been named as the special adviser on job creation. Kim is prominent for having become the country’s best craftsman in precise technology after starting out as a janitor at Daewoo Heavy Industries and Machinery without having finished elementary school.

Among the vice-chairs of the unity committee is Yoon Joo-kyung, the granddaughter of independence fighter Yoon Bong-gil. Kim Joong-tae, one of the victims of the 1964 espionage case, known as the first Inhyeokdang incident under the Park Chung-hee regime, is also one of the vice-chairs.

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