hankyoreh

One of the issues that grabbed national attention in South Korea over the Chuseok holiday was the “honeymoon” between President Park Geun-hye and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. On one level, it makes a lot of sense to see close collaboration between the President, who was attending the seventieth General Assembly, and Ban, the organization’s South Korean head. But there are also a number of factors, including recent talk from the ruling party about the “Ban alternative” and the New York event’s focus on publicizing the Saemaul Movement, that make it difficult to shrug the two’s diplomatic relationship as mere diplomatic business as usual.

Park‘s chief focus during her visit appears to have been a special senior-level event for the Saemaul Movement, which was reportedly organized by South Korea in conjunction with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Ban almost certainly played a major role in coordinating with international bodies to stage the event during the General Assembly. He also offered words of praise while attending the event, saying he was “deeply impressed as one South Korea to see the Saemaul Movement being introduced and implemented in member countries for the first time in UN history.” He went on to laud Park’s efforts in “introducing the Saemaul Movement and sharing it with developing countries.”

Therein is the reason that Ban’s remarks can’t just be written off as an anomaly. It also ties in with the frequent mention of Ban as a 2017 presidential election contender for the ruling Saenuri Party (NFP) by members of its pro-Park wing. The circumstances behind Park having no fewer than seven meetings with Ban during her visit - and the Blue House making every effort to publicize that fact - are similarly unusual. It‘s especially worth asking whether it’s appropriate for Ban to be so lavishly praising the Saemaul Movement, which was a dictatorship-era campaign to mobilize the South Korean public. While it may be true that several third world countries have adopted the movement's efficient methods, that doesn't mean its drawbacks and limitations can be whitewashed away. Even if Park is doing it out of a desire to carry on her father’s legacy, it would be interesting to know why Ban has been so eager to praise the campaign.

Ban was previously dismissive when news came to light back in May about how big the late Keangnam Enterprises chairman Sung Wan-jong had been on building him up into a presidential contender. “Unnecessary and inaccurate rumors like those are a hindrance to the performance of my duties as UN Secretary-General,” he said at the time, adding that he had “never for a moment held any interest in domestic politics.” Now it's Ban himself whose language and behavior are fanning that kind of “unnecessary and inaccurate” speculation at home. By doing that, he is going against the wishes of the many people who would like to see him successfully finish out his term as the UN's first-ever South Korean secretary-general. That’s the real reason seeing Ban pal around with President Park leaves so many people feeling not proud - just queasy.

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]