Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s surprise announcement Wednesday that he would not run in the upcoming presidential race threw the election campaign blueprint for a loop altogether.

Party leaderships, especially those of conservative parties that had sought to join hands with Ban at one point or another, were flustered. Runner-up candidates, whether conservative or progressive, set to gain new momentum by embracing Ban’s support groups.

Few had anticipated Ban’s renunciation of a presidential bid when his aides announced a press conference in the afternoon, hours after the former top diplomat had met with leaders of the ruling Saenuri Party and the newly formed Bareun Party.

As he had earlier stressed the need to amend the nation’s Constitution ahead of the presidential election, many expected his address to be about the basic law revision and perhaps drop further hints on his imminent candidacy announcement.

But expressing disappointment over the “obsolete and narrow-minded way” of domestic political circles, Ban declared he would give up on his aspiration to lead political change.

“It was just this morning that I made up my mind (on not running),” he said in answer to reporters’ question, suggesting it was the two conservative parties’ stance that has dampened his presidential plan.

His remarks delivered a shock not only to the press, but also to most members of his headquarters who had, up to the luncheon earlier in the day, pledged to assist Ban up to the presidential race.

The former UN top official’s dramatic drop from the race was made 20 days after he returned back to his home country amid mounting expectations he would represent the much-divided conservative camp in the election.

But in the weeks that followed, his poll numbers plummeted to the 13-15 percent range, partly due to his apparent lack of state affairs policies and partly because of persisting bribery scandals involving his family.

His undecidedness over party affiliation also cut down on his support rating. With the conventional conservative split in two -- the Saenuri and the Bareun parties -- Ban had been pushed to decide whether he would join the relatively reformative Bareun Party or remain on his own.

Also, the former top diplomat has often expressed anger and disappointment over the political reality, especially when the local media portrayed him as being detached from public sentiment and lacking common sense -- reports he viciously denounced as “ill-intentioned fake news.”

Now with top-tier aspirant Ban out of the presidential blueprint, it is the minority aspirants who see their chance for momentum.

First in line is Prime Minister and acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn, who has for some time been deemed the only valid candidate for the ruling Saenuri Party.

“Under the given circumstances, it is inevitable that conservatives should turn their eyes to Hwang,” said Kim Hyung-joon, a professor of political studies at Myongji University.

“But as acting president, Hwang should remain faithful to his current task and refrain from being swayed by the conservative power groups’ interest.”

The prime minister’s support rating, according to a poll conducted by Research & Research earlier this week, stood at 8.3 percent.

The most significant factor for Hwang is that it was almost inversely proportional to Ban’s approval rating.

As soon as Ban came under fire for his controversial remarks and actions, Hwang began to see his name rise into the mid-to-top-tier among presidential potentials. When Ban’s figure fell below 15 percent, Hwang’s made it out of the single digits, exceeding 10 percent for the first time.

Such changes in polls indicate that a large part of Ban’s previous supporters are currently undecided and are ready to switch over to another conservative-centrist figure.

But doubts persist on Hwang’s further advancement in polls, as he largely represents the incumbent Park Geun-hye administration which is facing an earlier-than-expected cessation due to Park’s impeachment trial.

“All candidates (in the upcoming presidential election) will be required to present what the Park administration was missing,” said Yoon Pyeong-joong, a professor of political philosophy at Hanshin University.

"In that sense, Hwang has clear limits as he effectively stands for the Park government.”

In the opposition camp, the likely beneficiaries from Ban’s renunciation are South Chungcheong Province Gov. An Hee-jung of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea and Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo of the runner-up opposition People’s Party.

Observers point out that Ban’s support groups largely consisted of those based in the nation’s western Chungcheong provinces and centrist-conservative voters seeking an alternative to the Saenuri Party.

The liberal governor is speculated to embrace the former group, whereas Rep. Ahn is bracing to appeal to the latter.

“With no powerful alternative to speak for the conservative camp, the election power game may turn into a race of the opposition against the opposition,” said professor Kim.

“But as opposition figures share much in common in terms of policies, this internal competition is not desirable for the sake of the nation’s democratic development.”

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com) and Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)