South Korea’s deepening scandal could hamper Ban Ki-moon’s 2017 presidential ambitions

Ban, who has been rumoured to be backed by Park as the ruling Saenuri Party candidate, has suffered a fall in popularity in the latest polls of presidential hopefuls as the scandal escalates. It has called the ethics of the President into question and triggered a leadership crisis for her, which may negatively affect Ban’s reputation as well.

Analysts said Sunday that Ban may try to distance himself from Park and Saenuri Party. They speculated that the UN chief may consider diverse options, if he wants to engage in politics after quitting the UN, such as joining hands with centre-right conservatives from the Saenuri Party’s minor factions and the minor opposition People’s Party.

Although he never explicitly showed interest in running for presidency, Ban has left the possibility open. In an interview with Reuters on October 21, he said, “I should make myself available for a better future of Korea that I am conscious of” when his UN tenure ends in December

“Ban will be wary of the impact of the Choi Soon-sil gate on his popularity,” said Choi Chang-ryul, a professor of political science at Yongin University. “He is likely to opt for a third way to avoid failure in his possible presidency.”

Ban, who has been the favoured potential candidate for the 2017 presidential election, was still the runaway leader with 21.5 per cent in a survey taken by Realmeter October 24 to 26.

Ban’s favourability rating, however, was down 0.7 percentage points from a week earlier, while runner-up Moon Jae-in of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) enjoyed a 0.8 percentage point increase for 19.7 per cent support.