Han Myeong-sook (born March 24, 1944; ko, 한명숙 ) was the

Prime Minister of South Korea The prime minister of the Republic of Korea (PMOTROK or PMOSK; ) 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 app ...

from April 2006 to March 2007. She is South Korea's first female prime minister (second female prime minister overall if the acting premiership of

Chang Sang Chang Sang (born 3 October 1939) became the first female Prime Minister of South Korea when President Kim Dae-jung reshuffled his cabinet in 2002. She holds a doctorate of philosophy from Princeton Theological Seminary and served as president of ...

is included). She was from the

United New Democratic Party The Grand Unified Democratic New Party (; GUDNP) was a political party of South Korea. It was formed out of the Uri Party and its resulting splinter groups. Chung Dong-young was the UNDP candidate in the 2007 South Korean presidential election; ...

(UNDP) as a member of the

Korean National Assembly The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, often shortened to the National Assembly in domestic English-language media, is the unicameral national legislature of South Korea. Elections to the National Assembly are held every four years. T ...

(representative) for

Ilsan Ilsan New Town refers to a planned city occupying Ilsandong-gu and Ilsanseo-gu of Goyang. Ilsan is located northwest of Seoul. Like other satellite cities in the Seoul National Capital Area such as Bundang, Ilsan was planned in order to alleviat ...

-gab, and is a graduate of

Ewha Womans University Ewha Womans University () is a private women's university in Seoul founded in 1886 by Mary F. Scranton under Emperor Gojong. It was the first university founded in South Korea. Currently, Ewha is one of the world's largest female educational ins ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

with a degree in

French literature French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than Fr ...

. She resigned as Prime Minister on March 7, 2007 and declared her presidential candidacy. But she did not succeed in the nominations. In 2008 she ran for parliament, but was not elected. However, in January 2012 she was elected leader of the main oppositional

Democratic United Party The Democratic Party (; DP), formerly the Democratic United Party (; DUP) until 2013, was a liberal political party in South Korea, and for the duration of its existence the country's main opposition force. On 15 December 2011, the Democratic ...

(DUP) before the April legislative elections and became a member of parliament. But the liberals did not manage to defeat the ruling

Saenuri Party The Liberty Korea Party () was a conservative political party in South Korea that was described variously as right-wing, right-wing populist, or far-right. Until February 2017, it was known as the Saenuri Party (), and before that as the Han ...

and Han stepped down as party leader in April 2012. In August 2015, Han was convicted of receiving illegal donations and sentenced to two years in prison. Han has maintained her innocence. In 2021, she was granted special amnesty by the government and her constitutional rights were restored.

Pre-Prime Ministerial career

She was imprisoned from 1979 to 1981 after she confessed to teaching pro-

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

ideas to workers, farmers and low-income women, but it is now accepted she was imprisoned for pro-Democratic activities.South Korean President Nominates New Prime Minister
VOA News A government committee exonerated her of any wrongdoing in 2001, ruling her confession was elicited through

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

.South Korea Nominates First Female Prime Minister
The New York Times In 1999, she joined the National Congress for New Politics, and entered politics. In 2000, she was elected as a member of the 16th Korean National Assembly (for Proportional representation). In 2004, she ran for a member of the National Assembly in

Goyang Goyang (''Goyang-si''; ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province in the north of South Korea. It is part of the Seoul Capital Area, making Goyang one of Seoul's satellite cities. It is one of the largest cities in the Seoul Capital Area, with a populatio ...

and was elected. Han was the first Minister of

Gender Equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...

, serving from 2001 to 2003. She served as the Minister of

Environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

from 2003 to 2004.Biography
Office of the Prime Minister

Appointment

On 24 March 2006, following the resignation of Prime Minister

Lee Hae-chan Lee Hae-chan (born 10 July 1952) is a South Korean politician who served as Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea from 2018 to 2020. He also served as Prime Minister of South Korea from 2004 to 2006. He served as Member of the National Ass ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Roh Moo-hyun Roh Moo-hyun (; ; 1 September 1946 – 23 May 2009) was a South Korean politician and lawyer who served as the ninth president of South Korea between 2003 and 2008. Roh's pre-presidential political career was focused on human rights advocacy for ...

nominated Han to become the first female Prime Minister of South Korea. Han is only the second woman to be nominated for the Prime Ministership. On 20 April 2006, Han Myeong-Sook was sworn in, becoming the first female

Prime Ministership

Libya-South Korea relations

Han visited

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

on 19 September 2006 and 20 September 2006.Airport Flag Used to Represent Korea

Dong-a Ilbo The ''Dong-A Ilbo'' (, literally ''East Asia Daily'') is a newspaper of record in Korea since 1920 with a daily circulation of more than 1.2 million and opinion leaders as its main readers. ''The Dong-A Ilbo'' is the parent company of Dong-A ...

South Korea-United Arab Emirates relations

Han went to the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

on 24 September and held high level talks with

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum ( ar, محمد بن راشد آل مكتوم, links=no; ; born 15 July 1949) is the Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, vice president, prime minister, and minister of defence of the United Arab Emir ...

. Han said she wanted to cultivate "the potential for bilateral cooperation in... trade, investment, IT and tourism." According to Han, "around 50 South Korean companies of global competitiveness have established headquarters of the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

region in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

." UAE companies invested $8 billion in South Korea from 2002–2006, but South Korea total investment in the UAE is only $25 million.S. Korea plans more UAE investments
Gulf News Han was interviewed by Gulf News in September 2006. She expressed a desire to increase South Korean investment in the UAE and sign a

Free Trade Agreement A free-trade agreement (FTA) or treaty is an agreement according to international law to form a free-trade area between the cooperating states. There are two types of trade agreements: bilateral and multilateral. Bilateral trade agreements occur ...

with the

Gulf Cooperation Council The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf ( ar, مجلس التعاون لدول العربية الخليج ), also known as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC; ar, مجلس التعاون الخليجي), is a regional, interg ...

. When asked about

gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...

in the UAE, she expressed interest in

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

women, and commended the fact that the "status of

women in Islam The experiences of Muslim women ( ''Muslimāt'', singular مسلمة ''Muslimah'') vary widely between and within different societies. At the same time, their adherence to Islam is a shared factor that affects their lives to a varying degree ...

is a historic and religious outcome that is regulated by the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

and

Hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...

." She pointed to the efforts of Shaikha Fatima, the mother of the UAE, the appointment of Shaikha

Lubna Khalid Al Qasimi Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid bin Sultan Al Qasimi, (born 4 February 1962) is an Emirati politician and member of the ruling family of Sharjah and the niece to Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi. She was previously the Minister of State for Tolera ...

, the first appointment of a female minister, as the Minister of Economy, and the February 2006 appointment of Mariam Al Roumi as the Minister of Social Affairs as positive signs of the UAE's adapting to social changes. She rejected the idea of "imposing a U.S. or

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

-style democracy on the

Arab world The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...

" saying, "the values of democracy are not to be imposed." Han expressed her friendship towards

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and her support for

UN Security Council Resolution 1701 United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 is a resolution that was intended to resolve the 2006 Lebanon War. It was unanimously approved by the United Nations Security Council on 11 August 2006. The Lebanese cabinet unanimously approved ...

UNIFIL The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon ( ar, قوة الأمم المتحدة المؤقتة في لبنان, he, כוח האו"ם הזמני בלבנון), or UNIFIL ( ar, يونيفيل, he, יוניפי״ל), is a UN peacekeeping m ...

United Nations Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-ge ...

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder ...

's efforts at securing peace, and Foreign Minister Ban's candidacy to be the next Secretary General.-

Kazakhstan-South Korea relations

Han met with

Daniyal Akhmetov Daniyal Kenjetaiuly Akhmetov ( kk, Даниал Кенжетайұлы Ахметов, ''Daniyal Kenjetaiūly Ahmetov''; born 15 June 1954) is a Kazakh politician who was the 6th Prime Minister of Kazakhstan from 13 June 2003 to 9 January 2007.

, the

Prime Minister of Kazakhstan The Prime Minister of Kazakhstan ( Kazakh Cyrillic: Қазақстан Республикасының Премьер-Министрі, Kazakh Latin: Qazaqstan Respublikasynyñ Premier-Ministrı, ; russian: Премьер-Министр Респ ...

, on 23 September 2006 in

Astana Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmo ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

. They signed several bilateral agreements enhancing economic ties. The

Government of South Korea The Government of South Korea is the union government of the Republic of Korea, created by the Constitution of South Korea as the executive, legislative and judicial authority of the republic. The president acts as the head of state and is th ...

agreed to invest an additional $2 billion in joint projects in the energy, uranium-extraction, construction, transportation, and banking sectors. Akhmetov offered South Korea the option of participating in developing a new type of

nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion. Heat from nu ...

. South Korean investors have stakes in more than 300 Kazakhstan-based companies. Han was in Kazakhstan until 24 September. She then traveled to

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...

.Kazakhstan, South Korea Vow To Boost Ties
BakuTODAY Han invited

Nazarbayev Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev ( kk, Нұрсұлтан Әбішұлы Назарбаев, Nūrsūltan Äbişūlı Nazarbaev, ; born 6 July 1940) is a Kazakh politician and military officer who served as the first President of Kazakhstan, in off ...

to visit South Korea in 2007 on behalf of President Roh, and on 25 September, after talking to Nazarbayev, she announced to the press that he had accepted and expressed hope that the trip would help to increase cooperation in the petrochemical industry, information technology and education/Kazakh Leader to Visit South Korea Next Year
Yahoo! Asia News

South Korea-Uzbekistan relations

Han and

Shavkat Mirziyoyev Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev (Uzbek Latin: ''Shavkat Miromonovich (Miromon o‘g‘li) Mirziyoyev'', Uzbek Cyrillic: Шавкат Миромонович (Миромон ўғли) Мирзиёев ; born 24 July 1957) is an Uzbek politician ...

, the

Prime Minister of Uzbekistan This is a list of prime ministers of Uzbekistan ( uz, O‘zbekiston bosh vaziri), from the establishment of the office in 1925 as the chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Uzbek SSR to the present day. The current prime minister, Abdulla ...

, met in

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...

, Uzbekistan on 25 September 2006. They signed several agreements, including one deal in which Uzbekistan will send 300 tons of Uzbek

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

ore to South Korea every year from 2010 to 2014. The deal bypasses U.S. companies that acted previously as middlemen for South Korean imports of Uzbek uranium ore. Han also met with

Islam Karimov Islam Abduganiyevich Karimov ( uz, Islom Abdugʻaniyevich Karimov / Ислом Абдуғаниевич Каримов, italics=no; russian: link=no, Ислам Абдуганиевич Каримов; 30 January 1938 – 2 September 2016) was t ...

and parliament speaker

Erkin Xalilov Erkin is a masculine given name which is also used as a surname. People with the name include: Given name *Erkin Abdulla (born 1978), Uyghur pop singer *Erkin Alptekin (born 1939), Uyghur human rights activist from Germany * Erkin Alymbekov, Kyr ...

. Han and Mirziyoyev boosted cooperation in the energy, agriculture, construction, architecture, and information technology sectors. Trade between South Korea and Uzbekistan increased by nearly 40% between 2005 and 2006, to $565 million.South Korea, Uzbekistan Sign Uranium Deal
RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty

Resignation

Han resigned from her position as prime minister on March 7, 2007, amidst speculation that she would run in the December 2007 presidential elections. After the informal meeting with former justice minister Kang Kum-Sil just before her resignation, Han said she would continue as a legislator and think about running for president.

Post-Prime Ministerial career

In 2007, Han ran for the party presidential candidacy but did not succeed in the nominations. She endorsed

Chung Dong-young Chung Dong-young (born 27 July 1953 in Sunchang County, North Jeolla) is a politician and was the United New Democratic Party nominee for President of South Korea in 2007. From April 2004 until December 2005, Chung was the South Korean Minister ...

. In 2008, she ran for re-election to parliament, but was defeated by a candidate of

Grand National Party The Liberty Korea Party () was a conservative political party in South Korea that was described variously as right-wing, right-wing populist, or far-right. Until February 2017, it was known as the Saenuri Party (), and before that as the Hanna ...

. In 2010, she declared to run for Seoul's Mayor position, but was very narrowly defeated by

Oh Se-hoon Oh Se-hoon (Korean: 오세훈, Hanja: 吳世勳; born January 4, 1961) is a South Korean politician who is currently the serving Mayor of Seoul since 8 April 2021. He also previously served as a member of the National Assembly of South Korea ...

GNP The gross national income (GNI), previously known as gross national product (GNP), is the total domestic and foreign output claimed by residents of a country, consisting of gross domestic product (GDP), plus factor incomes earned by foreign ...

by less than one percentage point. On the first congress of the

on 15 January 2012, Han was voted chairwoman of the supreme council of the party with 24.5 per cent support rate. The liberal party was created by a merger of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

with the minor Citizens Unity Party, and is South Korea's main oppositional force. Han was elected to parliament in the April legislative elections, but the liberals did not manage to oust the ruling party and Han stepped down as DUP head on 16 April 2012. For three months the leaders of the two major Korean parties were women: Park Geun-hye of the Grand National Party and Han Myeong-sook for the DUP.

References

External links

Official website of Korean Prime MinisterBiography of Ms. Han
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Han, Myeong-sook 1944 births Minjoo Party of Korea politicians Ewha Womans University alumni Living people Members of the National Assembly (South Korea) People from Pyongyang Prime Ministers of South Korea South Korean feminists South Korean politicians convicted of crimes 21st-century South Korean women politicians 21st-century South Korean politicians United New Democratic Party politicians Women prime ministers Women opposition leaders Cheongju Han clan Democratic Party (South Korea, 2000) politicians Heads of government who were later imprisoned Women government ministers of South Korea Environment ministers of South Korea Female members of the National Assembly (South Korea)