Spotlight: S. Korean political circle holds in check, sends love call to returned former UN chief

South Korean political circle took an ambiguous stance on former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's comeback Thursday by holding Ban in check on the one hand and sending a love call to him on the other hand.

Ban, whose second five-year term in the top UN post ended about two weeks earlier, has been seen here as the biggest variable to an early presidential election, which is widely forecast to be held in late April or mid-May.

President Park Geun-hye was impeached on Dec. 9 at the National Assembly, and an election must be held in 60 days to replace her if the constitutional court upholds the impeachment motion.

The former South Korean career diplomat has recently run neck and neck in presidential polls with Moon Jae-in, former head of the biggest opposition Minjoo Party.

Ban is considered as the best hope for conservative voters as support for President Park and her Saenuri Party fell over the influence-peddling scandal involving Park and her longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil, who is in custody for meddling in government affairs behind the scenes.

"Almost every sector of (South) Korean political arena will unite except Mr. Moon. The next presidential election will be a competition between Moon and the others," Jin W. Mok, professor of public administration at Kookmin University, said in an interview with Xinhua.

The Righteous Party, composed of former ruling party lawmakers, splintered away from the Saenuri Party, sending a love call to Ban as one of contenders in the new conservative party's primary.

The minor opposition People's Party, which broke away from the Minjoo Party in early 2016, also sought to scout Ban as one of the party's presidential hopefuls.

Ban is forecast to become the key to forming the so-called "third zone," where non-mainstreamers from the main opposition party and the governing party compete to field a single candidate in the next presidential election.

The Saenuri Party, which has been sinking in public support over its responsibility for the presidential scandal, has also sought to recruit Ban, who had been known to be close to Park and her party but turned his back following the widening scandal.

"Mr. Ban, at the moment, would be the best candidate to be invited from almost every sector of political arena," said the Kookmin University professor. However, he cautioned that Ban's popularity and value will decline as he will be tested in many ways.

According to a local magazine, Ban took 230,000 U.S. dollars of bribe from a South Korean business tycoon when he served as his country's foreign minister and even after being elected the UN chief.

Ban's younger brother and his nephew was indicted in a Manhattan federal court earlier this week for a scheme to bribe a Middle Eastern official. The kickback was given to attempt to sell a Landmark 72 building complex in Vietnam of Keangnam Enterprises, where Ban's brother worked as a senior advisor.

Ban's nephew was convicted by a Seoul court of fraud last year, paying civil damages of 590,000 U.S. dollars to Keangnam Enterprises, whose chairman committed suicide. The nephew is known to have worked for the Colliers International, a subcontractor to the United Nations.

"I don't think allegations against Mr. Ban will be detrimental to him, though allegations are always not good for any candidate," said Mok, who expected an early presidential election to give more benefit to Ban than disbenefit as it may be too short for anybody to verify anything.

During a press conference at the airport, the career diplomat strongly denied his involvement in any bribery, but the political circle still refrained from helping him prove innocence because Ban has yet to decide which political party he will side with.

Rep. Yoo Seung-min, one of presidential hopefuls in the Righteous Party, said in a YTN radio program that he can not identify Ban as being conservative or progressive, urging Ban to clearly show his political identity.

Park Jie-won, former floor leader of the People's Party, said prosecutors should investigate the suspected scandal over Ban unless his explanations persuade people to believe his innocence.

He also urged Ban to clearly disclose his political identity, saying the team of people who had prepared for Ban's possible presidential campaign before Ban's return was composed of many of close aides to former President Lee Myung-bak. Endit