Ban Ki-moon backed to enter SKorean presidential race

By Alex Jensen

SEOUL

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon received a glowing endorsement from a South Korean ruling party lawmaker Thursday, as speculation about a possible presidential bid continues to intensify ahead of the nation’s 2017 election.

The conservative Saenuri camp has been torn apart by an internal crisis in recent days, casting doubt on the presidential prospects of current chairman Kim Moo-sung.

Both Kim and main opposition head Moon Jae-in have come under criticism within their own parties over an agreement on the candidate nomination process for next year’s parliamentary elections.

It follows a string of other scandals to strike the rival parties in recent months, leaving room for an outsider to enter the frame for the 2017 vote.

If Ban were to throw his hat in the ring, it would not even be clear which side he would align with -- he once served as South Korean foreign minister under the liberal Roh Moo-hyun administration, but Saenuri lawmaker Hong Moon-jong was keen to offer praise for the U.N. leader.

“I think [Ban] has enough potential to be a candidate that our people would like," said Hong in an interview cited by local news agency Yonhap.

The lawmaker -- who is seen as being part of an anti-Kim faction -- expressed his view that “people have high hopes” for Ban.

Hong’s comments have some weight considering Ban leads opinion polls as the country’s preferred presidential candidate.

He is ahead of Kim and Moon by several percentage points in the latest TNS Korea survey.

That support has developed, even though Ban said in April that he wanted to spend more time with his family after his second U.N. term ends at the end of 2016.