1. Hwang Kyo-ahn is a South Korean politician and prosecutor who served as the acting president of South Korea from 2016 to 2017 and as the prime minister of South Korea from 2015 to 2017.
20 Facts About Hwang Kyo-ahn
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Hwang Kyo-ahn played a leading role in the investigation into the 2013 South Korean sabotage plot, which led to the conviction of Lee Seok-ki and the dissolution of the Unified Progressive Party.
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Hwang Kyo-ahn assumed the role of Acting President of Korea in accordance with the presidential order of succession until the election of Moon Jae-in on 9 May 2017.
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On 10 March 2021, Hwang Kyo-ahn announced his candidacy for nominee of the People Power Party in the 2022 South Korean presidential election.
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Hwang Kyo-ahn worked as a public security inspector with the Supreme Public Prosecutors' Office and the Seoul District Public Prosecutor's Office.
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Hwang Kyo-ahn spent 30 years as a prosecutor, specializing in enforcing public safety and national security laws under the military junta of Chun Doo-hwan, gaining particular notoriety for targeting democracy activists by linking them with North Korea.
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Hwang Kyo-ahn joined the Cabinet of South Korean President Park Geun-hye in 2013 as minister of justice.
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In that role, Hwang Kyo-ahn played a key role in the Constitutional Court case against the left-wing Unified Progressive Party ; the case culminated in a controversial December 2014 order banning the party, a decision that some saw as a blow to freedom of speech in South Korea.
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In July 2016, Hwang Kyo-ahn was heckled and pelted with eggs and water bottles by crowds in the rural town of Seongju, who were opposed to deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense in the area.
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However, after "a dispute with opposition leaders over choosing a replacement," Hwang Kyo-ahn was kept in office as prime minister.
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On 9 December 2016, upon the National Assembly's vote to impeach President Park following the 2016 South Korean political scandal, Hwang Kyo-ahn assumed Park's presidential powers and duties as Acting President.
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Hwang Kyo-ahn decided against contesting the South Korean 2017 presidential election, declaring it would be inappropriate to run, opting instead to focus on his position as Acting President.
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Hwang Kyo-ahn was previously seen as the leading candidate for conservatives within the country, leaving them searching for a viable candidate other than Hwang to challenge leading contender Moon Jae-in for the presidency.
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Hwang Kyo-ahn resigned as Prime Minister on 11 May 2017, after the election of his successor as president.
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Hwang Kyo-ahn announced in January 2019 that he would be seeking the party's leadership position.
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Hwang Kyo-ahn led his party to a landslide defeat and lost his own Jongno election to Democratic Party candidate and former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon.
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On 10 March 2021, Hwang Kyo-ahn announced his candidacy in the 2022 South Korean presidential election in a Facebook post.
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Hwang Kyo-ahn registered as a candidate for the People Power Party, the current incarnation of the former United Future Party.
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On 5 February 2025, Hwang Kyo-ahn joined the legal team of impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol defending him from criminal charges relating to his declaration of martial law in December 2024.
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Hwang Kyo-ahn is a Baptist Christian evangelist of a Baptist Church in Seoul, affiliated with the Korea Baptist Convention.