Rhee Syng-man
Rhee was elected the first president of South Korea on 10 May, 1948 by a parliamentary vote. He defeated Kim Koo, the last president of the Provisional Government by 180 votes to 16. All the left-wing parties refused to take part in the election. On 15 August 1948, he formally took over from the US military and became the legal power over the Korean people.