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Associated Press

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon addressed mounting speculation that he will run for president of South Korea on Friday, saying he will decide how to best help his country when he returns home in early January after 10 years as UN chief.
Ban told his final UN press conference that after taking some rest he plans to meet “as many people as possible”, including political leaders, members of civil society and his friends.
I will really consider seriously how best and what I should and I could do for my country ... I can understand and share the anxiety of people about the future of their country
Ban Ki-moon
“I will really consider seriously how best and what I should and I could do for my country,” he said.
Ban said South Korea is “in turmoil” following the explosive corruption scandal involving President Park Geun-hye, whose powers were suspended last week after lawmakers voted to impeach her.
“I can understand and share the anxiety of people about the future of their country,” he said. “And this is one of the biggest challenges the Korean people are encountering.”
South Korea’s deepening scandal could hamper Ban Ki-moon’s 2017 presidential ambitions
Ban said the people of South Korea don’t want to lose their hard-earned democracy and economic development that has transformed the country from a recipient of aid to a global donor. This is a source of pride and South Korea has been an example for other nations, he added.
“I also understand the aspiration of people for a new type of inclusive leadership that can help them overcome the challenges ahead,” Ban said.

He cited many issues, including reconciling differences in thinking, in income and on “regionalism” as well as tackling social integration.
“At the same time, while all these seem to present great challenges for Koreans and [the] Korean government, I’m confident that the Korean people, with their resilience and very matured democratic institutions ... will be able to overcome these difficulties soon,” Ban said.
Why replacing South Korean president is no walk in the park
Conservatives in South Korea appear to be pinning their hopes on the outgoing UN chief becoming a candidate for president after Park’s scandal complicated politics for her conservative Saenuri Party.
In a presidential poll conducted last week by Gallup Korea, Ban and former Democratic Party leader Moon Jae-in were tied at 20 per cent with Park critic Lee Jae-myung, the mayor of a satellite city of Seoul, surging to 18 per cent.

South Korea’s next presidential election is scheduled to be held in December 2017, but if Park’s impeachment is upheld by the Constitutional Court, a new vote would take place in 60 days.
Ban spoke about another major issue for his country – North Korea – when he was asked about prospects for northeast Asia.
Why do Koreans elect such awful leaders?
He recalled that many people have said the 21st century will be “an era of Asia-Pacific”, and northeast Asia has been seen as the powerhouse of economic growth in the region.
“That means China and Japan, [South] Korea – and these are very important drivers and have been commended, even envied ... by many countries around the world for their dynamic growth,” Ban said.

He expressed concern that relations among and between northeast Asian countries, and more broadly in Asia, haven’t been smooth recently.
Ban singled out “the very serious security concerns” caused by North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes and the country’s continued defiance of UN resolutions demanding an end to its nuclear and missile tests.
How rising tide of populism toppled South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye
Tensions on the Korean peninsula also have implications in northeast Asia, Ban said.
He said there have been differences involving China, Japan, South Korea, the United States and Russia on how to address the North Korean nuclear issue.

“I sincerely hope that with all this continuing security instability and political disharmonies among these countries, the leaders of northeast Asia will continue to meet together and try to narrow down their differences of opinions, and particularly in addressing North Korean nuclear issues,” he said.
Ban again urged North Korea to return to “the international community and abide by ... international norms”, including UN resolutions that call for a resumption of talks leading to the peaceful and verifiable denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.


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Ban Ki-moon

UN chief Ban Ki-moon addresses speculation he’ll run for president of South Korea

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon as he addresses a press conference, his last at United Nations headquarters. Photo: AFP

epa05657633 Masses of protesters gather and occupy major streets in the Seoul city center for a rally against South Korean President Park Geun-hye, in Seoul, South Korea, 03 December 2016. Park addressed to the nation earlier this week that she would leave it to the Parliament to decide if she should step down from her presidency after her friend Choi Soon-sil was charged with corrupt influence over state affairs. EPA/CHUNG SUNG-JUN / POOL

Possible South Korean presidential contender Moon Jae-in laughs during a press conference at the Seoul Foreign Correspondents Club in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016. Opposition politician Moon says South Korea should reconsider its plans to deploy an advanced U.S. missile defense system to cope with North Korean threats. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

(161216) -- UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 16, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Retiring United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (C) shakes hands with journalists after his End-of-Term press conference at the UN headquarters in New York, Dec. 16, 2016. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday said that he will discuss with political leaders, close friends in South Korea on how best he can do for his home country after he steps down as the UN chief on Dec. 31, as the Asian country is facing "very difficult situation" and "the biggest challenge." Ban made the statement as he was asked at a press conference here whether he will run for the South Korean presidency after his retirement in five days. The press conference is his final one at the end of his two five-year terms as the UN secretary-general.(Xinhua/Li Muzi)

Lee Jae-myung, mayor of Seongnam city, speaks during an interview in Seongnam, South Korea, on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016. Lee is rising in opinion polls with about a year to go until South Korea's next presidential election. He wants to break up the country's biggest companies, meet unconditionally with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and throw President Park Geun-hye in jail over an influence-peddling scandal. Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg

‘She gives shamans a bad name’: South Korean mystics claim presidential scandal has tarnished their reputations

Shaman Shin Joong-in performs a ritual in which offerings of food are made to spirits. Photo: AFP

In this photo taken on November 8, 2016, shaman Shin Joong-In conducts a ritual in a trance-like state as he makes offerings of food to the spirits at a shamanic centre in Yangju, north of Seoul. Practitioners of the centuries-old spiritual tradition are furious that their reputation has been tainted by association with the corruption scandal involving a close friend of the president, Choi Soon-Sil. Shamanism is deeply ingrained in Korean culture, and despite living in one of the world's most technologically advanced countries, many Koreans still consult shamans -- as intercessors with the spirit world -- for medical reasons, divination, or personal advice. / AFP PHOTO / Ed JONES

epa05628461 Demonstrators protest for the resignation of South Korea's president Park Geun-Hye on Pariser Platz in Berlin, Germany, 12 November 2016. Park is being accused of allowing her confidant Choi Soon Sil to interfere with government affairs, despite the fact she does not hold public office. EPA/GREGOR FISCHER

(161104) -- SEOUL, Nov. 4, 2016 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Park Geun-hye addresses the nation at the presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, Nov. 4, 2016. South Korean President Park Geun-hye said on Friday that she will accept an investigation into herself, if necessary, by prosecutors over a scandal surrounding Choi Soon-sil, the president's longtime confidante suspected of intervening into state affairs. (Xinhua/Blue House) (djj)

In this photo taken on November 8, 2016, shaman Shin Joong-In bites the head from a live chicken as he performs a ritual in which offerings are made to spirits, at a shamanic centre in Yangju, north of Seoul. Practitioners of the centuries-old spiritual tradition are furious that their reputation has been tainted by association with the corruption scandal involving a close friend of the president, Choi Soon-Sil. Shamanism is deeply ingrained in Korean culture, and despite living in one of the world's most technologically advanced countries, many Koreans still consult shamans -- as intercessors with the spirit world -- for medical reasons, divination, or personal advice. / AFP PHOTO / Ed JONES / TO GO WITH "SKorea-politics-scandal-religion-shamanism, FOCUS" by JUNG Ha-Won

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Ban said South Korea is “in turmoil” following the explosive corruption scandal involving President Park Geun-hye


Park Geun-hye