Huang Youfu, a professor of Korean studies at Minzu University of China, said the incoming Park administration could herald a warmer political climate on the Korean Peninsula.

"Given the impending necessity for an early start of the Six-Party Talks, the incoming president's policy regarding Pyongyang will be warmer than Lee's," Huang said.

However, Seoul will not slacken its push, with Washington and Tokyo, for harsh sanctions from the UN Security Council over Pyongyang's recent rocket launch, he added.

Analysts also expressed confidence in the new leadership's ability to balance its need for maintaining the traditional alliance with the US and pursuing a warmer atmosphere on the peninsula.

Seoul can accommodate its peninsula policy, and its alliance with Washington, if it is constructive, Jin Yingji, a researcher of Northeast Asian studies at the Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

ROK voters also expressed fears over the economy with the widening income gap and welfare issues high on the agenda.

Xu Changwen, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce, said the new president, who vowed to boost ties with China during the campaign, is undoubtedly "good news" for the deepening of China-ROK relations.

China is now the ROK's largest trade partner, boasting an annual trade volume greater than that of the ROK's trade with Japan and the US combined.

"The negotiations for a China-ROK free trade agreement are going well, and closer economic ties will enhance political trust between the two neighbors," Xu said.

The rising number of Chinese tourists going to Seoul in the second half of this year has boosted the economy, Xu added.

Jin, with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Seoul is now more eager than ever to attract foreign investment to ease the heavy burden of unemployment and a rapidly aging population.

The situation on the peninsula has cast a shadow over foreign investors, she said. That is another motivation behind Park's efforts pushing for warmer relations with Pyongyang, Jin said.

Contact the writers at zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn and lixiaokun@chinadaily.com.cn

AP contributed to this story.