Ban Ki-moon - Korea's next president?

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon poses with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to Moscow to discuss the Ukraine crisis in this photo taken on March 20. / Yonhap

By Kang Seung-woo

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has steered clear of talk about a potential candidacy for the 2017 presidential election being fed by his popularity rising in one survey after another.

Now, the 70-year-old career diplomat finds himself at the center of a tug-of-war between the ruling and opposition parties, which appear eager to scout Ban, if they can, and stymie his potential bid in the event he ends up representing the other party.

The partisan equilibrium was skewed Monday when Kwon Roh-kap, an adviser to the New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD), told reporters that Ban’s aide came to him to sound out the possibility of Ban running for president on the NPAD ticket.

Of course, the observation by Kwon, an old political hand who cut his teeth under the wing of the late President Kim Dae-jung, cannot be taken at face value. He refused to reveal details about the meeting including the identity of the aide in question. And he, as an opposition party member, has a political motivation to identify Ban as a member of the opposition camp.

Political watchers believe Ban’s credentials and ideological stripes jibe better with the ruling Saenuri Party.

Talking about Ban’s candidacy can upset President Park Geun-hye, who still has three years to go.

A recent public poll by Hangil Research showed that nearly 40 percent of respondents supported Ban, while 13.5 percent backed Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, a potential NAPD standard-bearer.

Plus, Ban is from the central Chungcheong Province.

“It is possible that Ban will run in the next presidential election,” said Prof. Chung Goon-gi at Hongik University.

Yoo Ki-june, a Saenuri Party lawmaker, last month quoted Ban as saying that he was not interested in the job.

“Don’t count him out because he has just published a new book about himself,” Chung said. People often publish a biography before launching a political career.

Hong Hyeong-sik, director of Hangil Research, agreed.

“Ban couldn’t run for the 2012 elections because of his UN commitment, but this time he has not made it clear whether he plans to run for president,” Hong said. He added that Ban’s outstanding international credentials will certainly help him as leader of Korea, a nation that is sandwiched by big powers.

Shin Yul, a political professor at Myongji University, said Ban may be considering the pros and cons.

“Ban had better not show his interest now,” Shin said, adding that it will not be too late to wait and announce his plans in the election year.

With no strong potential candidates, the Saenuri Party was the first to start courting Ban.

The NPAD is currently more aggressive in recruiting Ban, who served as the foreign minister under the Roh Moo-hyun administration from 2004 to 2006. He also served for the Kim Dae-jung government as a vice foreign minister. Both Roh and Kim were liberals.

“Ban is a conservative-minded figure, although he worked for liberal governments,” Chung said.

Shin said that Ban could certainly represent the Saenuri Party, citing the NPAD’s low popularity.

Hong said Ban’s popularity comes from those who are conservative, aged 50 or older.

Choi Chang-ryul, a politics professor at Yongin University, said, “Ahn Cheol-soo gained popularity through his meetings with the young generation who expected him to resolve their pending issues such as unemployment. But the Ban fever has arrived because of the public’s deep-seated distrust of politics, and his wealth of experience at the U.N.”

In the history of U.N. chiefs, Kurt Waldheim, who took the position from 1972 to 1981, was elected president of Austria in 1986.