SEOUL, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's National Assembly Friday confirmed the nomination of Han Seung-soo as prime minister.

    Among a total of 270 lawmakers voted on the nomination, 174 lawmakers backed Han. Han will take office at 05:00 p.m. local time (0800 GMT), the Prime Minister's Office said.

    Following the approval, Lee Dong-kwan, spokesman for President Lee Myung-bak, said Lee will meet with Han and other Cabinet members later on the day.

    The approval on Han's nomination came after the resignation of three scandal-tainted ministers-designate.

    As of Friday, among Lee's 15 Cabinet minister nominees, 11 have passed the parliamentary confirmation hearings since the opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) demanded the withdrawal of the health minister-designate.

    Lee will have to wait until March 10 to nominate the remaining four ministers as the National Assembly yet to issue confirmation reports about them.

    Han, 72, has worked as South Korean ambassador to the United States, foreign minister and president of the U.N. General Assembly. Han studied international politics at Seoul's Yonsei University and earned a doctorate in economics from Britain's University of York in 1968.

    Lee nominated Han as prime minister on Jan. 28.

    The UDP boycotted a parliamentary vote on Han's nomination on Tuesday, citing his alleged underreporting of wealth and real estate speculation.

S Korean president replaces minister nominees

South Korea's new President Lee Myung-bak speaks with the media at President House in Seoul Feb. 26, 2008.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    SEOUL, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak announced Wednesday he decided to replace two of his ministers-designate amid growing concerns over their scandals.

    Park Eun-kyung, who was nominated as Lee's environment minister, offered to withdraw from the post to take responsibility for the controversy over her alleged involvement in massive real estate speculation.  Full story

Lee Myung-bak sworn in as S Korean president

    SEOUL, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's conservative leader Lee Myung-bak was sworn in as the country's 17th president on Monday in Seoul, vowing to lead the Eastern Asian country to a road to advancement.

    Lee, who won the presidential elections on Dec. 19 last year, promised in his inauguration address to revive the country's economy on the basis of the market economy and to introduce pragmatic ideals into foreign policy.  Full story