Former South Korean Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan on Monday said that diplomats were not suitable for playing in domestic politics, days before he was scheduled to meet with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York this week.
“The talents of diplomats are not suitable for local politics. While diplomacy is also important, a diplomatic character does not fit with the politics that have extreme conflicts,” Lee said to the press. “I have seen many diplomats, but none of them ran for presidency.”
Former prime minister and independent Rep. Lee Hae-chan (Yonhap)
Lee is currently visiting the U.S. upon the invitation of the U.S. State Department. He was the former premier during the Roh Moo-hyun administration and is the head of a foundation honoring the late leader. Ban served as foreign minister during the liberal Roh administration at the same time Lee was prime minister. Lee reportedly played a role in getting Ban elected as chief of the global body.
To the question as to whether he plans to give such advice to Ban during their slated meeting, Lee said the encounter is not supposed to be a political one and that he was meeting the secretary-general for a simple cup of tea. He said he was contacted by Ban’s side for the meeting.
Ban and Lee will meet Wednesday, according to the source who works at a foundation honoring late President Roh. Lee is the foundation’s chief director.
“(Lee’s) itinerary includes a visit to New York,” the source said on condition of anonymity.
The meeting will likely draw keen attention as it comes after Ban indicated interest in running for South Korea’s presidency during a visit to his native country last week. The next presidential election is slated for December 2017, and Ban has long been considered a strong contender, especially within the conservative ruling party.
Political watchers raised the possibility that the former foreign minister may be reaching out to regain the support of Roh loyalists from whom he has drifted apart.
“For Secretary-General Ban, it’s only natural that he feels uneasy about the talk that he has turned his back on Roh loyalists,” an official of the liberal opposition camp said, asking that he not be identified.
Ban is to complete his second, five-year term as U.N. chief at the end of this year.
According to a survey conducted by Realmeter of 2,018 South Koreans last week, Ban held an approval rate of 25.3 percent, outpacing other potential candidates from the opposition, who till now had been leading in the polls. Moon Jae-in, former leader of The Minjoo Party of Korea, held 22.2 percent in the same survey, up 0.7 percentage point from a week earlier.
From news reports