Ex-UN chief Ban to make decision on
political future 'soon'
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[January 12, 2017]
By Christine Kim and Ju-min Park
SEOUL (Reuters) - Former U.N. chief Ban
Ki-moon arrived home in South Korea on Thursday and said he will make a
decision soon on his political career, amid expectations he will run in
an election that may come early if President Park Geun-hye is forced
from office.
Ban, 72 is among front-runners in polls to succeed Park, whose fate will
be decided when the Constitutional Court decides whether or not to
uphold parliament's December impeachment of her over an
influence-peddling scandal.
Ban, a former foreign minister whose 10 years as U.N. secretary-general
ended in December, has not said whether he will run for president, nor
has he affiliated himself with any party.
"I've been saying I will listen to our people's thoughts after returning
home. I will have that opportunity from tomorrow. I will make a selfless
decision with a humble heart," Ban said at the airport after his
arrival.
"That decision-making won't take long."
Ban's possible path to the presidency hit a bump this week when his
younger brother, Ban Ki-sang, and nephew, Joo Hyun Bahn, were accused in
a Manhattan federal court of a scheme to bribe a Middle Eastern official
in connection with the attempted $800 million sale of a building complex
in Vietnam.
Ban told Korean reporters in New York on Wednesday, before his departure
for South Korea, that he was dismayed by the affair and had no knowledge
of it.
"I am perplexed and embarrassed that close members of my family have
become involved in something like this. I feel it is regrettable the
situation has troubled many," Ban said.
"I had absolutely no knowledge. My nephew is grown and I barely had any
involvement in his life or how he does business," Ban, who was not
mentioned in the indictment, said in remarks broadcast on South Korean
TV.
Throngs of media and well-wishers, some carrying signs saying B.I.G.,
the acronym for a fan club, Ban Ki-moon Infinite Good Fortune, greeted
him at the airport.
"Thank you! Thank you!" a smiling Ban said as some in the crowd shouted
his name. Ban picked up a baby dressed in traditional Korean hanbok
clothing.
POLITICAL CRISIS
Ban returns to a country gripped by political crisis stemming from the
influence-peddling scandal that has engulfed the political elite.
[to top of second column] |
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon delivers a speech after being
awarded with the Legion of Honour (Legion d'Honneur) by the French
president at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, November 17, 2016.
REUTERS/Bertrand Guay/Pool/File Photo
Park, 64, the daughter of a former military ruler, has denied any
wrongdoing but was stripped of her presidential powers pending the
court decision on whether or not to uphold her impeachment.
If it does, Park would become South Korea's first democratically
elected leader to leave office in disgrace and an election would be
held in two months. As is, the scheduled date of the next election
for a five-year single term is Dec. 20.
While Ban was greeting supporters, Jay Y. Lee, scion of the Samsung
Group, the country's biggest conglomerate, was being questioned by
special prosecutors on suspicion of bribery in the wide-reaching
scandal.
Prosecutors are investigating whether Samsung gave about $25 million
to a business and foundations backed by a friend of Park's in
exchange for the national pension fund's support for a 2015 merger
of two Samsung affiliates.
Lee in December denied accusations the conglomerate sought to curry
favour with Park or her friend to secure the merger.
The political crisis has seen big peaceful protests every weekend,
with demonstrators calling for Park to step down.
"History will remember the year of 2016," said Ban, who before the
political scandal had been expected to run as a member of Park's
conservative Saenuri party.
"It will remember a miracle, made by the people in the public
square, good people united to make a good country," Ban said before
heading in to central Seoul on the airport train.
(Reporting by Christine Kim and Ju-min Park; Additional reporting by
Yun Hwan Chae; Editing by Tony Munroe, Robert Birsel)
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