National security , public safety and economic prosperity will be central to President Park Geun - hye ’ s plans for “ opening a new era of hope . ” In her inauguration speech , Korea ’ s first female president presented “ economic revival , ” “ happiness of the people ” and “ flourishing culture ” as key themes for her five - year term . Regarding her plans for the economy , Park did not stray far from past statements stressing the importance of creating a science and technology - based “ creative economy , ” the efforts for which will be led by the newly established Ministry of Future Planning and Science . On the issue of “ happiness of the people , ” however , Park focused more on education and national and public security , than welfare as she had done during last year ’ s presidential campaign . The president touched on the subject of welfare saying only that she would enable the people to work “ to the fullest of their abilities , and contribute to national advancement through the new welfare paradigm . ” Since winning the Dec . 19 election , Park has scaled down some of the welfare programs including the cash subsidy for those aged 65 and over amid budgetary concerns . Park has also backtracked on the program initially designed to cover both medical and non - medical expenses for patients suffering from one of four major diseases . A significant proportion of the inauguration speech was dedicated to public and national security , which Park emphasized as being fundamental requirements for happiness . Park used her first public speech as president to reiterate her stance on North Korea and its nuclear ambitions . Despite the international community ’ s warnings and sanctions , Pyongyang has refused to abandon its nuclear program and conducted its third nuclear test on Feb . 12 . Park ’ s statement on Monday also backed up her view that peace achieved by “ one - sided giving ” was not a true peace . During a presidential candidate debate on Dec . 4 , Park stated that the country must differentiate between true and false peace , and that maintaining amiable relations through unquestioned material support was not true peace . “ North Korea ’ s recent nuclear test is a challenge to the survival and future of the Korean people , and there should be no mistake that the biggest victim will be none other than North Korea itself , ” Park said . She went on to urge North Korea to conform to the international community ’ s demands and to become “ a responsible member of the international community instead of wasting its resources on nuclear and missile development . ” “ I will move forward step - by - step on the basis of credible deterrence to build trust between the South and the North . ” While Park did not rule out inter - Korean dialogue , she appears likely to take a hard - line stance against Pyongyang without positive developments such as abandoning the nuclear program . “ Trust can be built through dialogue and by honoring promises that have already been made . It is my hope that North Korea will abide by international norms and make the right choice so that the trust - building process on the Korean Peninsula can move forward , ” she said . Based on the inauguration speech , Park also appears to be envisioning a larger role for South Korea on the international stage . Expanding on the idea of “ era of happiness ” for the first time , she said that her vision includes playing a role for South Korea in bringing happiness to the globe . While security and economy have been central to her agenda right from the start , Park brought in culture as a new tool for achieving the “ era of new hope . ” Saying that “ culture is power , ” Park said that her administration would support creative activities across a wide range of genres and nurture the “ content industry which merges culture with advanced technology ” as an engine for her creative economy model . Political and government transparency were not central to the speech , unlike during the election campaign , but Park did hint at the intention to roll out measures aimed at regaining the public ’ s trust . “ The success of our journey hinges on mutual confidence and trust between the government and the people , and their ability to move forward in partnership , ” Park said . “ I will earn the trust of the people by ensuring that our government remains clean , transparent and competent . I will endeavor to shed popular distrust of government and strive to elevate the capital of trust . ” However , as the Cabinet continues to be filled by Lee Myung - bak administration officials , the new president ’ s plans will likely progress on rickety wheels for the time being . As Park ’ s plans for reorganizing administrative bodies to suit her policy objectives remain to be approved by the National Assembly , the parliamentary confirmation hearings for a number of key posts have yet to be scheduled . Although the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic United Party have significantly narrowed their differences , the parties remain at loggerheads over the issue of which government body will be put in charge of matters regarding broadcast media . The Saenuri Party had been calling for all broadcast - related matters to be placed under the Ministry of Future Planning and Science , while the DUP has maintained that the Korea Communications Commission is most suited to maintaining impartiality . With the DUP rejecting the ruling party ’ s compromise of placing only non - news broadcast - related matters under the Science Ministry , it remains unclear when the proposed revisions to the Government Organization Act will be processed by the National Assembly . In addition to difficulties presented by government reorganization , a number of ministerial nominees have come under intense fire from the opposition parties . Led by the DUP , the opposition parties have raised numerous allegations against a number of nominees including Minister of National Defense nominee Kim Byung - kwan and Justice Minister nominee Hwang Kyo - ahn . By Choi He - suk ( cheesuk @ heraldcorp . com ) [ Hot News ] ◆ Park takes helm ◆ Economic democratization overshadows inauguration ◆ Welfare , public safety focus of Park ’ s agenda ◆ Where have we seen it before ? ◆ British teen dies in fall from ski lift