Prime Minister of South Korea

The prime minister of the Republic of Korea is the deputy head of government and the second highest political office of South Korea who is appointed by the President of the Republic of Korea, with the National Assembly's approval. The prime minister may be a member of the National Assembly, but this is not required to hold the office. The prime minister of South Korea is not the head of government of South Korea, for the President is both the head of state and government in the country. The current prime minister is Han Duck-soo, having taken office on 20 May 2022. Nomenclature The Sino-Korean word gukmu (/) means "state affairs" and chongri (/) means "prime minister", "premier" or "chancellor", so the full title in Korean means literally "Prime Minister for State Affairs", but it is not used as official English title. The short title in Korean is simply Chongri. History The position was created on 31 July 1948, two weeks before the government of South Korea was founded, and was held by Lee Beom-seok until 1950. During the Second Republic a parliamentary system was established and the prime minister became the most powerful position, with the president reduced to a figurehead. Chang Myon was the only prime minister of the second republic until the military coup of 1961. The title was Chief Cabinet Minister from 1961 until 1963.