Ban to meet Roh loyalist faction leader

By Kim Hyo-jin

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will meet with independent lawmaker Lee Hae-chan, the de-facto leader of Roh Moo-hyun loyalists, in New York, Wednesday, a lawmaker said Monday.

Lee, a seven-term veteran politician and chairman of the foundation named after the late president, is visiting the United States at the invitation of the U.S. Department of State.

The meeting was arranged at Ban’s request, according to Rep. Do Jong-hwan of the Minjoo Party of Korea, who is accompanying Lee.

“Secretary-General Ban asked to have tea with Lee first,” Do said.

It will be Ban’s first time in nine years to meet a former member of the Roh administration.

Ban was elected as the U.N. chief in 2006 after serving as Roh’s foreign minister.

Lee, who was the prime minister at the time, helped Ban’s worldwide campaign.

Political watchers believe the meeting reflects Ban’s resolve to run in the presidential race next year.

Ban, the most-favored presidential candidate of all potential runners at this point, already fueled speculation that he was eyeing a presidential candidacy during a visit to his home country late last month.

The ruling Saenuri Party, which is struggling to field a competitive candidate after some of its presidential hopefuls lost in the April 13 general election, hopes to woo Ban to its side.

Speculation was further fueled as his itinerary focused on meeting loyalists of President Park Geun-hye.

Lawmakers in the opposition affiliated with the late President Roh have taken offense at Ban for the perceived political move.

Hwang Tae-soon, a senior analyst at Wisdom Center, called this latest visit “a symbolic gesture to soothe the discontent toward himself from the Roh faction.”