Jung Hong-won (; born 9 October 1944) is a former

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. He served from 26 February 2013 to 16 February 2015 under conservative President

Park Geun-hye Park Geun-hye (; ; often in English ; born 2 February 1952) is a South Korean politician who served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 to 2017, until she was impeached and convicted on related corruption charges. Park was the fi ...

. Jung was a member of the

Saenuri Party The Liberty Korea Party () was a conservative political party in South Korea that was described variously as right-wing, right-wing populist, or far-right. Until February 2017, it was known as the Saenuri Party (), and before that as the Han ...

Early life and education

Jung graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (undergraduate) from

Sungkyunkwan University Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU or simply ''Seongdae'', Hangul: 성균관대학교; Hanja: 成均館大學校) is a private comprehensive research university in South Korea. The institution traces its origins to the historic Sungkyunkwan, founde ...

. After passing the Judicial Examination, he became a prosecutor.

Career

Jung became known after solving several high-profile cases, such as the Lee-Chang scandal, in which relatives of President

Chun Doo-hwan Chun Doo-hwan (; or ; 18 January 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a South Korean Republic of Korea Army, army general and military dictator who ruled as an unelected Political strongman, strongman from 1979 to 1980 before replacing Choi Kyu-hah ...

were prosecuted, and the Walker Hill Casino scandal. Jung resigned from his job as a prosecutor in 2003 and then served the president of the

Institute of Justice An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes can ...

. From 2004 to 2006, he served as the Standing Commissioner of the Republic of Korea National Election Commission. From 2008 to 2011, he served as the president of Korea Legal Aid Corporation. Before the 2012 general election, he entered the

. On 8 February 2013, he was nominated as the first Prime Minister of President-elect

's government. On 26 February 2013, after the

National Assembly of South Korea The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, often shortened to the National Assembly in domestic English-language media, is the unicameral national legislature of South Korea. Elections to the National Assembly are held every four years. T ...

confirmed his nomination, he was formally sworn in. On 27 April 2014, he tendered his prime ministership resignation to the president following the Sinking of the MV ''Sewol'' on 16 April 2014, during which more than 300 people were killed. President Park accepted the resignation in principle, but Jung continued to lead the Cabinet after the search and rescue operations of the Sewol came to an end. Few were nominated to replace Jung, including

Ahn Dae-hee Ahn Dae-hee (; born March 31, 1955) is a prosecutor once nominated Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea. President Park Geun-hye nominated for the post of Prime Minister on 22 May 2014, but Ahn withdrew his nomination. Biography Ahn was a stat ...

, but none of them were able to replace him. Jung was formally replaced as prime minister on 16 February 2015.(LEAD) Parliament endorses PM nominee
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References

1944 births Government ministers of South Korea South Korean prosecutors Living people Prime Ministers of South Korea 20th-century South Korean lawyers Sungkyunkwan University alumni 21st-century South Korean lawyers {{SouthKorea-politician-stub