'UN chief may not seek Saenuri Party ticket'
Ban Ki-moon
By Kim Hyo-jin
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon may not run in next year’s presidential election on the ticket of the ruling Saenuri Party amid the ever-widening scandal involving President Park Geun-hye’s confidant, according to its party floor leader.
Ban, whose U.N. term ends at the end of this year, has been rumored to be backed by Park as the ruling party candidate, with expectations that the former foreign minister will join the Saenuri in January to run for president.
“The Saenuri Party is losing public confidence enormously. I highly doubt that Ban would join the beleaguered party,” Saenuri floor leader Chung Jin-suk said during the party’s general meeting on Friday, according to party officials, Saturday.
Chung’s support base in Chungcheong Province is Ban’s. He also has been known to be close to Ban. Their relationship traces back to the 1990s when Chung was a politics reporter.
Chung’s remarks came as a deep-rooted factional feud is expanding within the governing party in response to the influence-peddling scandal, in which Choi Soon-sil, a civilian with no official government position, significantly meddled in state affairs to further her own interests.
In the wake of the scandal, President Park made two public apologies in the past two weeks, while approval ratings for her and the party have slid.
Due to the alleged link to the ruling party, Ban, who had been the favored potential candidate for a long period, ranked second to former opposition leader Moon Jae-in in the latest poll on Wednesday ― the first time in 15 weeks.
Speculation is rife that Ban may look for an alternative to the embattled Saenuri Party once he joins domestic politics. He could even join hands with a third force outside the rival parties, according to analysts.
Amid the growing speculation, Chung later said his remarks should not be stretched.
“It came out in the context where I was explaining the party’s difficult situation,” he told reporters on Saturday.