The Korea Herald

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Acting president Hwang Kyo-ahn to quit

By Lim Jeong-yeo

Published : May 9, 2017 - 22:50

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Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn will offer his resignation to the new president Wednesday, his office said Tuesday.

He is also to sign off on the resignations of the top presidential staff so as to clear the Blue House for the arrival of the new team. Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party of Korea won the presidential election Tuesday and is expected to take his presidential oath at noon Wednesday.

On his last day at work, Hwang vowed fair management of the election and ballot counting. 

(Yonhap) (Yonhap)

The prime minister has been acting as state chief since Dec. 9, when the National Assembly passed an impeachment bill on former President Park Geun-hye, suspending her from all presidential powers.

Hwang was once deemed a plausible presidential candidate for the conservative camp, but he announced in mid-March that he would focus on his role as acting president.A former prosecutor, Hwang started serving in the former Park administration as justice minister before being named prime minister.

Reports also suggested that Hwang would accept en masse the presidential staff’s resignations, which were submitted Sunday, though the prime minister’s office denied any final decision on the matter.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)