U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday congratulated Park Geun-hye on her election as new president of the Republic of Korea (ROK) and sought boosted cooperation on a wide range of issues.

"I look forward to working closely with the Park administration to further enhance our extensive cooperation with the Republic of Korea on a wide range of important bilateral, regional and global issues," Obama said in a statement.

"The U.S.-ROK alliance serves as a lynchpin of peace and security in the Asia Pacific and our two nations share a global partnership with deep economic, security and people-to-people ties, " he added.

Park, the 60-year-old daughter of former president Park Chung- hee, will take office in early February, 2013 as the country's first female president, as she had garnered 51.7 percent of the votes counted.

Her archrival, Moon Jae-in of the main opposition Democratic United Party, came second with 47.9 percent.

Obama reached out to outgoing ROK President Lee Myung-bak as well, saying "I also wish to reiterate my admiration for all that President Lee has done to strengthen U.S.-ROK relations and promote a Global Korea."