Ban Ki-moon returns home to South Korea, hints at presidency run

Seoul: Former UN chief Ban Ki-moon arrived in South Korea on Thursday and said he would make a decision on his political career soon, amid expectations that he will run for President if Park Geun-hye is forced out from office.

Ban is one of the front-runners to succeed Park, whose fate will be decided by the Constitutional Court. Ban, a former foreign minister whose 10 years as UN secretary-general ended in December, has not said whether he would 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,” he said.

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, “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.”