Did UN advise Ban Ki-moon to give up bid?

By Yi Whan-woo

Speculation is rampant that former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon took the U.N.’s opinion into account in his abrupt decision to withdraw his bid for presidency, Wednesday.

Upon his return home on Jan. 12, Ban said he is awaiting the U.N’s opinion about whether it is a violation of a U.N. rule if he runs for the presidential race here.

“It’s possible that Ban abruptly decided to pull out from the presidential race after listening to the U.N.” a political commentator said on condition of anonymity.

His critics had claimed that it would be a breach of the U.N. Resolution on Terms of Appointment of Secretary-General for Ban to make a presidential bid shortly after his U.N. tenure ended in December.

Adopted in 1946, the resolution states: "Because a Secretary-General is a confidant of many governments, it is desirable that no member should offer him, at any rate immediately on retirement, any governmental position in which his confidential information might be a source of embarrassment to other members."

Jung Chung-rae, a former lawmaker and also current member of main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), tweeted that the international law takes the same effect as the domestic law here and Ban’s presidential bid would be against the Constitution.

South Chungcheong Province Govenor An Hee-jung from the DPK had claimed that Ban is unqualified to run for presidency, saying “He is not observing the U.N. resolution as if someone is throwing away an old hat.”

Spokesman for the U.N. Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric, has been declining to respond to The Korea Times to clarify whether Ban can run for the presidency.

Meanwhile, Ban said his short-lived efforts for the presidential bid left “a bid scar” on the U.N’s honor after serving there for 10 years until December.

“My pure patriotism and pride was marred by slander as well as fake news and my goal for fundamental change in politics became bleak,” he said during a press conference in Seoul. “In return, a big scar was left on me, my family and the honor of the U.N. where I served for the past 10 years while disappointing the people.”