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Hwang Kyo-ahn (; born 15 April 1957) 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.
Hwang served as minister of justice from 2013 to 2015 under President Park Geun-hye. He 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. In May 2015, he was nominated by President Park Geun-hye for the position of Prime Minister of South Korea and assumed office on 18 June 2015.
On 9 December 2016, President Park Geun-hye was impeached by the National Assembly. Hwang 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.
In January 2019, he joined the Liberty Korea Party and was elected as its party leader on 27 February 2019. When the Liberty Korea Party merged with several other parties to form the United Future Party on 17 February 2020, Hwang continued his role as party leader of the United Future Party. After leading the United Future Party to a landslide defeat in the 2020 South Korean legislative election and losing his own election for the constituency in Jongno District, Seoul, Hwang resigned as party leader.
On 10 March 2021, Hwang announced his candidacy for nominee of the People Power Party (PPP) in the 2022 South Korean presidential election. He was eliminated from the shortlist of PPP candidates on 8 October. On 9 April 2025, he announced his candidacy for an independent bid for the 2025 South Korean presidential election, having also left the PPP on the same day. He withdrew on 1 June, endorsing PPP nominee Kim Moon-soo.
Hwang earned his LL.M. in 2006 from the Graduate School of Law at Sungkyunkwan University.
Hwang wrote a book on the national security law called the "Public Security Investigation Textbook."
After serving as the Chief Inspector of the Busan High Prosecutors' Office in 2011, he served as an attorney at the Pacific Law Firm from September 2011 to January 2013.
In July 2016, Hwang 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 (a U.S. missile defense system) in the area. The deployment plans angered local residents, who raised health and environmental concerns.
Hwang "was regarded as the staunchest loyalist in Park's cabinet." Nevertheless, on 2 November 2016, one month before her impeachment, Park fired Hwang as Prime Minister amid the 2016 South Korean political scandal as Park tried to rebuild confidence in her administration. However, after "a dispute with opposition leaders over choosing a replacement," Hwang was kept in office as prime minister.
Afterwards, Hwang attended the APEC meeting, which was held in Peru, on behalf of Park.
His first field tour as acting president was to the Joint Chiefs of Staff in central Seoul, where he emphasized national security and stated "We are facing a grave security status, as we cannot entirely rule out the possibility of North Korean provocations near the Northern Limit Line (NLL)."
Hwang decided against contesting the 2017 presidential election, declaring it would be inappropriate to run, opting instead to focus on his position as Acting President. He 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.
He resigned as Prime Minister on 11 May 2017, after the election of his successor as president.
In the 2020 legislative elections on 15 April, Hwang ran for the seat for the Jongno district of Seoul, which includes the Blue House and Gwanghwamun Plaza. Hwang led his party to a landslide defeat and lost his own Jongno election to Democratic Party candidate and former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon. Hwang resigned from the leadership on 15 April, shortly after the election. After the 2020 legislative elections, Hwang went on a brief hiatus from politics.
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> President Trump and Acting President Hwang Kyo-Ahn of the Republic of Korea (ROK), January 29, 2017
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