By Rachel Lee
People's Party Chairman Park Jie-won said Sunday his party cannot accept former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, a leading presidential hopeful, for now.
But he did not completely shut the door on Ban, saying they had agreed on reforming the government after having a private meeting in Seoul.
While it has been suspected that Ban may join the party, Park made it clear to Ban that it was difficult for the minor opposition party to accept him at the moment, considering a series of slip-ups.
"We cannot deny the fact that the support rate for Ban has been falling, which makes it difficult for us to be together," Park said. "It's his decision on whether he joins the conservative or opposition bloc, but even if we see changes in his attitude, we will still have to see how the changes will be accepted by the people."
But he said the two agreed on political reform that can end the Park Geun-hye administration.
Park said is Ban considering many options ahead of the presidential election, and forming a new party was likely to be one of them. But Ban was negative about joining the ruling Saenuri Party, Park said.
Ban did not comment on the meeting with the chairman.
The former U.N. chief has struggled to impress voters amid criticism that he has few ideas about how to revive the country and has ambiguous stances on politically sensitive issues. Bribery allegations surrounding him and his relatives especially grabbed the people's attention. Since his return, the gap between Ban and frontrunner Moon Jae-in of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea in opinion polls has widened.
People's Party Chairman Park Jie-won said Sunday his party cannot accept former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, a leading presidential hopeful, for now.
But he did not completely shut the door on Ban, saying they had agreed on reforming the government after having a private meeting in Seoul.
While it has been suspected that Ban may join the party, Park made it clear to Ban that it was difficult for the minor opposition party to accept him at the moment, considering a series of slip-ups.
"We cannot deny the fact that the support rate for Ban has been falling, which makes it difficult for us to be together," Park said. "It's his decision on whether he joins the conservative or opposition bloc, but even if we see changes in his attitude, we will still have to see how the changes will be accepted by the people."
But he said the two agreed on political reform that can end the Park Geun-hye administration.
Park said is Ban considering many options ahead of the presidential election, and forming a new party was likely to be one of them. But Ban was negative about joining the ruling Saenuri Party, Park said.
Ban did not comment on the meeting with the chairman.
The former U.N. chief has struggled to impress voters amid criticism that he has few ideas about how to revive the country and has ambiguous stances on politically sensitive issues. Bribery allegations surrounding him and his relatives especially grabbed the people's attention. Since his return, the gap between Ban and frontrunner Moon Jae-in of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea in opinion polls has widened.
