Scandal, gaffes dent Ban’s election bid

Ex-UN chief admits ‘clumsy moments’ as poll suggests he has lost ground

It has been an inauspicious return to crisis-plagued South Korea for former United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon, once the odds-on favorite to be the next president, who has been ensnared in a family corruption scandal and struggled with a skeptical press.

Ban, 72, has been unable to capitalize on his much-anticipated homecoming after a decade as secretary-general of the United Nations in New York.

Since his return on Jan 12, hehascutasometimes-irritable figure in public and been pilloried for a series of perceived PR gaffes — all without announcing any intention to run for president.

Now the United States has asked South Korea to arrest his brother, Ban Ki-sang, on charges that he engaged in a bribery scheme to carry out the sale of a Vietnamese building complex.

The timing of the case could hardly be worse for Ban, whose high international profile and clean image were expected to be assets as he returned to a nation reeling from a presidential corruption scandal.

President Park Geun-hye has been impeached by parliament and stripped of her powers while a court decides her fate.

A Realmeter poll released on Monday showed Ban’s support slipping from 22.2 percent last week to 19.8 percent, Ban Ki-Moon, former United Nations chief and potential South Korean presidential candidate compared with 29.1 percent for Moon Jae-in of the opposition Democratic Party.

The poll numbers are volatile and analysts say it is too early to count out Ban. However, if Moon holds his lead, he would become the first liberal to be elected president in nearly a decade.

Ban has yet to affiliate himself with a party but had been expected to run as a conservative.

If the impeachment vote against Park is upheld by the Constitutional Court, she will have to quit and an election would be held two months later. A ruling is expected as soon as next month.

Ban has a team of politicians and former diplomats supporting him and has made several campaign-style appearances around the country since his return, pitching him in the full glare of the media spotlight.

On his arrival in Seoul, Ban took the airport express train instead of a limo, but didn’t know how to buy a ticket. He was pictured trying to insert two 10,000 won bills into the machine at the same time for a 7,500 won ticket.

I’ll take it as a tough lesson learned and try to be better prepared.”

Media criticism

“Couldn’t you have treated it as something cute from a person who had been in New York for a long time?” he protested at a meeting with voters and reporters in the southern city of Daegu. “I really wish they wouldn’t act with malice.”

Two days later, Ban visited a care home where he fed porridge to an old woman. He was criticized for wearing a bib when the old woman was not — and for feeding someone lying flat on their back.

He also dressed head to toe in protective gear to try out a disinfectant spray when most of those around him wore ordinary clothes, media said.

Ban himself admitted on Monday to some “clumsy moments” and irritability since his return.

“I was impatient and had passion for wanting to go and meet the people as soon as I could, so there were little mistakes,” he told reporters.

“I’ll take it as a tough lesson learned and try to be better prepared.”