Cho Yoon-sun

Grand National Party spokeswoman Cho Yoon-sun admits to a hot temper that might make her seem a somewhat eccentric choice for the job. "I tend to keep it to myself because I worked as a lawyer for a long time, but my temper shows in my face," she told the Chosun Ilbo.

As a lawyer for a giant firm Kim & Chang in 2002, she was scouted as a spokeswoman for the campaign of then GNP presidential candidate Lee Hoi-chang. When Lee lost, Cho joined Citibank Korea as vice president for legal affairs. She was appointed GNP spokeswoman prior to the general election in March last year.

But Cho says she has no regrets about going into politics. "If I hadn't, I'd probably carried on working as a lawyer," she says.

Yet she feels politics has got into a rut. "Everything is so stereotypical. It's never good to fall into mannerism and become stereotypical. Politics must change. There are many good things politicians do, but it's a pity that their image is of constant fighting," she says. Her aim, she adds, is to become a politician who can give people hope.