Has Ban Ki-moon started campaigning for Korean presidency?

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, center, looks around during a visit to Hahoe Folk Village, a UNESCO heritage site in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, Sunday. / Yonhap

By Yi Whan-woo

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited a folk village in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, Sunday, in what is viewed as being linked to a 2017 presidential bid.

The North Gyeongsang provincial government, which jointly organized Ban’s trip to Hahoe Folk Village, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, explained that it is customary for a U.N. chief to visit UNESCO-designated sites in the regions where they travel.

The municipal government said that Ban is scheduled to attend the U.N. Department of Public Information (DPI)/NGO Conference in Gyeongju, also in North Gyeongsang Province, Monday, before returning to New York.

But Ban’s stopover in Andong only added to rampant speculation that he may run for president. Earlier, he commented that he will contemplate his future when his tenure at the U.N. is over in December. He appears to have President Park Geun-hye’s backing and could compete in the presidential race as a candidate for the ruling Saenuri Party.

On Sunday, Ban spoke at the opening of the 2016 Rotary International Convention in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, before heading to Andong.

After being greeted by tourists and locals there, Ban had lunch with the elders of the country’s Ryu Seong-ryong clan at Hahoe Folk Village, which has preserved a clan-based community since the 16th century.

He planted an evergreen tree to honor Ryu, an official revered during the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) for his diplomatic acumen, and wrote in a guestbook that he hopes the people will “inherit Ryu’s love for the country and sense of duty.”

He also visited the newly built building of the North Gyeongsang provincial government.

Kim Kwang-lim, a Saenuri Party lawmaker from Andong, said Ban avoided political subjects.

But some critics interpreted that Ban is trying to identify himself with Ryu as part of efforts to draw support from the Gyeongsang region. Ban was a foreign minister before taking office at the U.N. in 2007.

The critics also speculated Ban, a native of North Chungcheong Province, is trying to build relations with the clan’s leaders.

The conservative Saenuri Party mainly draws its support from the country’s southeast, including North and South Gyeongsang provinces.

The Andong visit came a day after he met former Prime Minister Kim Jong-pil, who was a powerful politician based in the Chungcheong region. Kim, 90, served as prime minister twice, under the liberal Kim Dae-jung administration and also under the government of Park Chung-hee, President Park Geun-hye’s late father.

He kept his conversation with the U.N. chief secret from reporters after they met at Kim’s home in Sindang-dong, Seoul.

Refusing to talk about his possible presidential bid, Ban said he told the former prime minister that he “wanted to finish my job at the U.N. well before returning home.”