The Republic of Korea (ROK) National Assembly approved the nomination of Han Myung-sook as the country's first female prime minister on Wednesday afternoon.

Han, a 62-year old lawmaker of the ruling Uri Party, gained 182 votes out of a total of 264 votes cast.

The ROK's Yonhap News said the approval had been widely anticipated as a majority of lawmakers found no major flaws with Han's morality or qualifications to manage state affairs during a two-day confirmation hearing that ended on Tuesday.

President Roh Moo-hyun nominated Han as new prime minister on March 24 after former prime minister Lee Hae-chan resigned from the post over a golf scandal.

Han served as minister of environment between 2003 and 2004 in the Roh Moo-hyun's administration.

She was also appointed as the first minister of gender equality in 2001 by then ROK President Kim Dae-jung.

She was elected to the National Assembly as lawmaker twice, respectively in 2000 and 2004.

Before joining politics, she has devoted herself to pro-democracy and feminist movements.

During the years of Park Chung-hee's military dictatorship, she started her career as a social activist in the ROK Christian Academy.

She was jailed from 1979 to 1981 for her role in the academy, which was dedicated to promote democracy among ROK society.

Since the 1980s, she devoted herself to promote women's status in ROK. She has served as the president of Womenlink Korea, a feminist civilian organization, for a long time.

She acquired master's degrees in Christian theology and women's studies respectively from ROK Hanshin University and Ehwa Women University.

She also obtained bachelor's degree in French Language and Literature from Ehwa.

She is married with Park Sung-jun, a professor who once served over 12 years in jail for leading a democracy movement against the military regime decades ago. They have a 20-year-old son.

She was born in Pyongyang, the current capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, in 1944.

(Xinhua News Agency April 20, 2006)