By Alex Jensen
SEOUL
South Korean lawmakers finally approved President Park Geun-hye's latest choice of prime minister Thursday, more than 50 days after Lee Wan-koo's resignation over a bribery scandal left the position vacant.
The new PM, Hwang Kyo-ahn, has a reputation as a tough former prosecutor who went on to become justice minister.
He will need every ounce of tenacity to steer South Korea through its ongoing MERS virus outbreak, which as of the latest health ministry announcement had claimed 23 lives and infected 165 people locally.
The government came under criticism for failing to take sufficient measures to initially contain the disease when the country's first infection was reported last month -- in a man who had returned from the Middle East.
In South Korea, the prime minister is second to the president -- acting PM Choi Kyung-hwan has spent recent weeks appearing at MERS-affected facilities and leading meetings with relevant officials.
Choi also serves as finance minister, and can now turn to the task of managing the not insignificant economic impact of the outbreak.
Hwang, 58, will have much to prove from the outset, as he was far from being a unanimous choice.
The long delay in securing the approval of lawmakers came as the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) questioned his credentials.
Hwang's past serving authoritarian governments immediately stood him against the liberal NPAD -- but allegations ranging from skipping military service to unjust earnings were also dragged up.
He was, moreover, instrumental in last year's controversial forced closure of a minor opposition party that was deemed pro-North Korean.
In the end, Hwang's support from the ruling party allowed him to survive a National Assembly vote by 156 to 120, becoming the third premier to serve under Park in just over two years in office.
