Park Geun-hye, the leading presidential candidate of South Korea's ruling Saenuri Party, defended Monday a 1961 military coup that led to 18 years of authoritarian rule by her late father.

For the 60-year-old daughter of military strongman Park Chung- hee, her father's legacy, still a subject of heated partisan debate here, is both an obstacle and a political asset as she looks to win the Saenuri presidential nomination in August.

The late dictator, whose revolt toppled the democratically elected government of Yun Bo-seon, is sometimes credited with South Korea's rapid economic development but criticized for suppressing dissenters.

Given poverty and security threats that the country was faced with at the time, the senior Park made an "inevitable" choice, the former Saenuri chairwoman said during a debate organized by local journalists.

The May 16 coup "laid the foundation" for the modernization of South Korea, she said, adding people should make their own judgments on the issue.

While observers say the junior Park evokes nostalgia among conservatives and old-timers for the country's rags-to-riches economic rise, she is an anathema to liberals and progressives.

The presidential election will be held on Dec. 19. The incumbent President Lee Myung-bak, who defeated Park in the 2007 presidential race, is barred by constitution from re-election.