SEOUL: Former United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, one of the world’s most recognised South Koreans, announced Wednesday he will not stand for the presidency of his country.
Ban returned home last month after a decade in New York and was widely expected to run in elections due this year, but his putative candidacy ran into a series of stumbles.
“I will withdraw from politics,” he told reporters at a press conference. “I’m sorry for disappointing many people.”
Although he never officially declared he was running, the former UN chief embarked on a series of public appearances and was widely expected to join the ruling Saenuri party of impeached President Park Geun-Hye, or an emerging conservative breakaway for the upcoming presidential elections.
