SEOUL, August 10, 2008 (AFP) - South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak called swimming prodigy Park Tae-Hwan on Sunday to congratulate him on winning the country's first-ever swimming Olympic gold medal, his office said.

'Your victory is a giant glory to you and brought joy to the nation,' Lee was quoted as telling Park after the swimmer won the men's 400-metres freestyle final at the Beijing Games on Sunday.

Lee praised Park for demonstrating South Korea's 'enhanced national power,' his spokesman told reporters.

The 18-year-old held off a charge from China's Zhang Lin by just over half a second to win in an Asian record of three minutes 41.86 seconds.

Park is now the Olympic and world champion in the event after becoming South Korea's first swimming world champion at Melbourne last year.

Lee suspended a meeting with aides at his office to watch a live television broadcast of the swim, and erupted with joy after Park's win was confirmed, the spokesman said.

Tens of thousands of people rushed to their blogs or other Internet sites to congratulate Park, with more than 1,500 comments posted in 20 minutes at one website, Yonhap news agency said.