SEOUL: Former U. N. chief Ban Ki-moon, once considered front-runner to be the next South Korean president, ruled out a run for the job on Wednesday, saying he was “disappointed at the selfish ways” of some politicians and complaining of “fake news”.
Ban told reporters at parliament, after meeting conservative party leaders, that he had been subject to “malign slander akin to character assassination” in the media and had given up his “patriotic” plan to lead political change.
“With all kinds of fake news, my intention for political change was nowhere to be seen and all that was left was grave scars to my family and myself, and to the honour of the U. N., where I spent the past 10 years,” he said.
South Korea has been gripped by political crisis for months amid a corruption scandal that led to the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye. If the impeachment vote is upheld by the Constitutional Court, she will have to quit and an election would be held two months later.
A ruling is expected as soon as late this month.
Ban, 72, returned to South Korea on Jan. 12 after serving 10 years as U. N. secretary-general. He was unable to capitalise on his much-anticipated homecoming, cutting a sometimes-irritable figure in public and mired in a series of perceived PR gaffes and a scandal involving family members.
