After visiting U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon indicated potentially joining next year’s presidential race, frenzied debate was sparked in political circles on its implications for the current political landscape and whether he stands a chance.

The 71-year-old diplomat said Wednesday evening that he would “contemplate” what he would do as a South Korean citizen when his term ends in December 2016 in response to widespread speculation of him becoming a presidential candidate for the ruling Saenuri Party.
With media outlets and local pundits wasting no time to interpret his remark as tacit acknowledgement to running in the 2017 election, Ban reportedly tried to water down the remarks the next day by commenting that they were taken out of context.  

“(Local media) reports as if I decided to run for the election, but it was not my intention,” Ban was quoted as saying by Jeju Gov. Won Hee-ryong, who attended the closed-door luncheon alongside foreign dignitaries such as former Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama.

In a breakfast meeting that came before the afternoon meeting, Ban reportedly reiterated that South Korea needs a leader that can unite the divided country, echoing his yesterday’s remarks viewed as making the case for his foray into the politics.

The rival political parties also roiled over what was considered a step forward from Ban’s previous position not to comment at all on his political plan. The Saenuri Party welcomed the idea, while the opposition parties denounced it as being inappropriate and premature.

“If Ban comes to our party (as a presidential candidate), we will win (the presidential election),” said Rep. Hong Moon-pyo of the Saenuri Party. “It seems to me that the opposition party is intimated (by Ban’s foray into politics),” he said.

But Hong added that Ban must prove himself as a strong candidate during the party primaries by competing with other presidential hopefuls such as Rep. Kim Moo-sung, who had insisted that Ban should win the nomination contest in order to become a party candidate.

The Minjoo Party of Korea and the People’s Party, for their part, claimed that it is inappropriate for the incumbent U. N. chief to engage with local politics and urged the world’s top diplomat to bring his focus back on international issues.

“Ban’s comment on the presidential bid has brought confusion to the nation,” said Minjoo Party floor leader Rep. Woo Sang-ho. He accused Ban of hijacking the debate over crucial legislative matters such as how to distribute seats for the parliamentary committees in the 20th National Assembly that opens next Monday.

The main opposition’s lukewarm response contrasts with their previous welcoming gesture toward the former foreign affairs minister. The liberal party had contended that Ban should run as their candidate because the liberal Roh Moo-hyun named him as a foreign minister and helped his bid for the U.N. chief.

Following the meeting with Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, Ban flew to Japan to attend the G7 summit. He will return on Friday and attend a conference in Gyeonggi Province, before heading down to North Gyeongsang Province to meet with the city’s senior citizens.

By Yeo Jun-suk (jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)