Ban Ki-moon, former UN chief, drops South Korea presidency bid

Ban Ki-moon leaves a press conference announcing he will not run

Former UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon has ruled himself out of the running for South Korean president.

In a surprise move, the leading conservative candidate blamed political slander and "various fake news" stories against him for his decision. His withdrawal is a boost for liberal candidate and frontrunner Moon Jae-in.

South Korea is seeking to replace President Park Geun-hye, who was impeached in December after a long-running corruption scandal.


Mr Ban gave a brief press conference in which he said he wanted to use his 10 years' experience as UN chief to achieve national unity, but said he had been subjected to "malign slander akin to character assassination".

"With all kinds of fake news, my intention for political change was nowhere to be seen and all that was left was grave scars to my family and myself, and to the honour of the UN where I spent the past 10 years," he said.

He said he was "disappointed by old-fashioned, narrow-minded egoistic attitudes by some politicians, and I came to a conclusion that it would be meaningless to work together with them".