Hwang has spent the majority of his career with the Korea Baseball Organization's Lotte Giants, hitting .330/.391/.558 with 26 home runs and 104 RBIs in 118 games last season. He is a .285/.349/.433 career hitter with 114 homers in 10 seasons.
Hwang profiles as a third baseman, which fits San Francisco's needs and could allow Eduardo Nunez to serve in a utility role. The club also signed veteran infielder Jimmy Rollins to a Minor League deal with a Spring Training invite earlier this offseason.
The KBO has historically been known as an offense-friendly league, which makes it difficult for evaluators to project how power numbers will translate to Major League Baseball.