Minister of Justice
What position did Hwang Kyo-ahn take from Mar 2013 to Jun 2015?
Hwang Kyo-ahn Hwang Kyo-ahn ( ; born 15 April 1957 ) is a Korean politician and prosecutor who served as the 40th Prime Minister of South Korea from 18 June 2015 to 11 May 2017 . He served as Minister of Justice from 2013 to 2015 and Acting President of South Korea from 2016 to 2017 . In 1981 , he passed the judicial examination and in December 1982 , he began his career as prosecutor at the Chuncheon District Prosecutors Office . He worked as a public security inspector with the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office and the Seoul District Public Prosecutors Office . He also 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 19 , 2011 to January 2013 . He served as Minister of Justice from 2013 to 2015 . 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 to become Prime Minister of South Korea and assumed office on June 18 , 2015 . On December 9 , 2016 , President Park Geun-hye was impeached by the National Assembly . Hwang assumed the role of Acting President of Korea until the election of Moon Jae-in on 9 May 2017 . In January 2019 , he joined the Liberty Korea Party , and was elected to the presidency on February 27th . Early life and education . Hwang was born on April 15 , 1957 . He graduated from Kyunggi High School in 1976 . He received his LL.B in 1981 from the College of Law at Sungkyunkwan University , and passed the 23rd National Bar Exam the same year . He is a member of the Korea Baptist Convention . Hwang managed to avoid the mandatory military service which all Korean male adults are required to complete by claiming a rare case of hives . Hwang earned his LL.M . in 2006 from the Graduate School of Law at Sungkyunkwan University . As prosecutor . Hwang was a career prosecutor . He 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 . Administrative career . Justice Minister ( 2013–2015 ) . Hwang joined the Cabinet of South Korean President Park Geun-hye in 2013 as minister of justice . In that role , Hwang played a key role in the Constitutional Court case against the left-wing Unified Progressive Party ( which was accused of holding pro-North Korean views ) ; 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 . Prime Minister ( 2015–2017 ) . On May 21 , 2015 , Park named Hwang as Prime Minister of South Korea , following the resignation of Lee Wan-koo due to allegations of bribery . 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 Parks cabinet . Nevertheless , on November 2 , 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 . Acting President ( 2016–2017 ) . On December 9 , 2016 , upon the National Assemblys vote to impeach President Park following a political scandal , Hwang assumed Parks presidential powers and duties as Acting President . On March 10 , 2017 , South Koreas Constitutional Court upheld the decision to impeach President Park Geun-hye and removed her from office . As a result , Hwang continued as Acting President of South Korea until new elections in early May , which were brought forward from December due to the constitution requiring new elections within 60 days of a permanent presidential vacancy . On assuming the powers of the presidency , Hwang said he felt deep responsibility . The exact extent of Hwangs powers as acting president are unclear under South Korean law . 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 South Korean 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 May 11 , 2017 , after the election of his successor as president . Political career ( 2018–2020 ) . In November 2018 , Hwang joined the Liberty Korea Party . He announced in January 2019 that he would be seeking the partys leadership position . On February 27 , 2019 , he won Liberty Korea Party leadership election with 50.1 percent of the vote . In 2020 , Hwang is running for the Jongno district seat in Seoul , which includes the Blue House and Gwanghwamun Square . Having led his party to a landslide defeat in the legislative election , Hwang resigned from the leadership on April 15th . Religion . He is a Protestant with a devout Baptist church , who also attended a night seminary and served as a church preacher . He is a member of the Christian Association of the legal profession . External links . - President Trump and Acting President Hwang Kyo-Ahn of the Republic of Korea ( ROK ) , January 29 , 2017