U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon asked South Koreans Monday to refrain from speculating about whether he will run for president next year, saying the meaning of his six-day stay in the country has been exaggerated.
South Korea's former foreign minister said in a press conference after the U.N. Department of Public Information Non-Governmental Organization Conference in Gyeongju, 371 kilometers southeast of Seoul, that talks with senior reporters last Wednesday were a closed door affair and that what he said was blown out of proportion.
"My remarks were somewhat exaggerated and blown up, which baffles me," he commented.
On his first day here, he told reporters on the southern resort island of Jeju that he would contemplate his future as a South Korean citizen upon completing his two terms as U.N. chief at the end of this year. He also offered his vision for a political leader as someone who is willing to give up everything for national unity.
South Korea's next presidential election is slated for December 2017.
On Monday, however, Ban said there should be no misunderstanding about his activities here.
"The purpose of my visit was unrelated to any personal purpose or political move. I came strictly to take part in and oversee international events as the U.N. secretary-general," Ban said.
He added that he still has seven months to go before his second five-year term as secretary-general comes to an end.
"I will do my best to successfully finish my term," he said, asking the South Korean public to help him achieve that goal.
On future prospects, he pointed out that speculating on what he will do is useless.
"The press has written many speculative stories about my future actions, but only I know what I plan to do," he said, making clear he will make the decisions in due course.
Ban's latest trip home, meanwhile, caused more people to think of him as a strong presidential contender, especially in the wake of the ruling Saenuri Party's crushing defeat in April's parliamentary elections.
The U.N. chief has never said he will not run for president.
A survey conducted by the vernacular daily JoongAng Ilbo showed that 40.2 percent of conservatives and 25.4 percent of moderates supported Ban as the next president, making him the most popular of the existing contenders. The poll, conducted between Friday and Saturday on 1,000 adults nationwide, had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points with a 95 percent confidence level.
Ban's itinerary fueled speculation over his motives as it covered a wide area of the country with clear resemblances to a presidential campaign trail. From Jeju, the U.N. chief traveled to Japan to attend a G7 summit before returning home to Seoul. He then went to Goyang, just outside the capital, and also visited the southeastern cities of Andong and Gyeongju.
The final two stops were especially viewed with suspicion as they are located in the ruling party stronghold of Gyeongsang.
Throughout his trip, Ban also had frequent meetings and encounters with Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, North Gyeongsang Governor Kim Kwan-yong, Saenuri floor leader Chung Jin-suk and other politicians.
On a train from Gyeongju to Incheon, where Ban is to board a flight back to New York later in the day, the secretary-general's spokesman repeated Ban's words.
"He said, 'don't listen to what other people are saying, don't listen to the speculation,'" Stephane Dujarric told Yonhap News Agency.
"'Only I know what I'm going to say and what I'm going to do, and I will decide my future after I finish as secretary-general.'
His focus right now is just on being the secretary-general." (Yonhap)
