In 1974, Park's mother was killed in a botched assassination attempt on her father. In the years that followed, she assumed the role of First Lady, greeting world leaders alongside her father. This was Park's first training on how to lead her country.

"With the sudden passing of my mother ... heavy responsibilities and duties of the First Lady were suddenly forced upon me, it was indeed an arduous task," she told CNN in 2014.

Five years after her mother's death, Park Chung-hee was also assassinated -- killed by his own security chief. Having lost both her parents and her home, Park withdrew from the public sphere, living what she described as "a very normal life."

Park said she was persuaded to rejoin politics after seeing the effects of the Asian economic crisis in the late 1990s. Even with her pedigree, however, the road to political power was far from easy. In 2006, she was attacked while campaigning ahead of local elections in Seoul, but continued in politics, eventually winning the Presidency and returning to the Blue House in 2013, decades after her parents' deaths.

Disaster

Park became the first female leader of a deeply patriarchal South Korean society, sparking hopes of a push toward gender equality. Her performance on the job reminded some of her father.

"According to her aides, her style of governing was more reminiscent of (Park Chung-hee), more authoritarian than South Korea's used to in today's 21st century democracy," said Duyeon Kim of Georgetown University.

Just over a year into her presidency, tragedy struck again.

"That was a stain on her presidency," said John Delury, a professor at Seoul's Yonsei University. "There was a palpable sense at that time that she wasn't there. It's not as if people expected her to magically save the ship, but there was a need for leadership."

Corruption

"I believe that one should value and place the utmost value on trust and confidence," Park told CNN before the Sewol disaster.

Since the death of Park's mother, questions had been raised about the influence of a cult leader, Choi Tae-min, on the young First Daughter.

In October, it emerged that one of those children, Choi Soon-sil, had the trust and ear of Park the president, and had for decades.

Choi is currently on trial for meddling in state affairs and extorting money. She denies all charges against her.

Following a three month investigation by special prosecutors, it was recommended that Park be indicted as a bribery suspect once she loses presidential immunity.

Calls for Park's impeachment were swift after she made a short televised apology, in which it was made clear she would not step down as she did not believe she had done anything wrong.

Hundreds of thousands of people protested in downtown Seoul every Saturday throughout the brutally cold Korean winter, opposed by much smaller demonstrations calling for Park to remain.

Subsequent apologies from Park fell largely on deaf ears, and months of political stalemate and divisive public protests continued.

On Friday, a unanimous decision by the country's Constitutional Court ended Park's presidency for good, upholding a vote by the National Assembly to impeach her.

Elections for a new leader must be held in the next 60 days and Park's Saenuri Party hopes to maintain their grip on power despite the scandal.

But the woman who spent much of her life in and out of the Blue House will have to leave it again, this time for good.