Former Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou and South Korean presidential candidate Park Geun-hye (Creative Commons).

Conservative Park Geun-hye is the daughter of Park Chung-hee, a military general who took power of South Korea in a coup in 1961, USA Today reported, and ran the country as a military dictatorship until he was assassinated by his security chief in 1979.

South Korea adopted a democratic constitution in 1987, according to The Wall Street Journal. Wednesday’s election will be the country’s sixth.

Park, 60, is running against liberal Moon Jae-in for a five-year term. Moon, 59, is a former human rights lawyer who was jailed as a student activist for opposing the regime of Park’s father, USA Today reported. The candidates are running to replace President Lee Myung-bak. During Lee’s presidency, he took a harder approach to North Korea’s missile program.

USA Today reported that polls show that even though South Korean voters are worried about their neighbor to the north, economic policy is their biggest concern.

From The Wall Street Journal:

Chae Su-Chan, a university economist and former member of parliament, said the next president will need to address the weakening economy and lack of opportunity that is visible in both statistical data and the anxiety expressed by recent college graduates and other young adults.

"If either one meets this challenge, then they will be seen as a transformer," Chae told the Journal. “But I don't see that from what they've said."

Read more of Neon Tommy’s coverage on South Korea here.

Reach Executive Producer Agnus Dei Farrant here.