hankyoreh

South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon emerged as the near-certain successor to Kofi Annan as the U.N. secretary-general after he comfortably won the fourth and last informal poll in the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday (Seoul time).

Ban received 14 votes in favor and one no-opinion vote from a non-standing member in the 15-seat council, according to U.N. diplomats.

More importantly, he was the only candidate to secure the unanimous support of the council's veto-wielding powers -- the United States, China, Britain, France, and Russia.

U.N. officials said Ban's election is only a matter of time.

"It is quite clear from today's straw poll that Minister Ban Ki-Moon is the candidate the Security Council will recommend to the General Assembly," China's U.N. ambassador Wang Guangya told reporters in New York.

The runner-up Shashi Tharoor, the Indian U.N. undersecretary-general for public information, immediately pulled out of the competition, making brighter the prospects of Minister Ban's election at next week's formal vote to select a single candidate for endorsement by the 192-nation General Asembly.

The U.N. Security Council is moving to hold the formal vote on Monday.

"It was sufficiently clear that all members of the council agreed we would move to a formal vote on Monday," U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton said. It would be technically impossible for another candidate to enter the running before the forthcoming vote.

It is expected to take about a week for the General Assembly to be convened for the final process of selecting the successor of Annan, who is to retire on Dec. 31, giving Ban more than two months to prepare for the top U.N. post.

It means Ban could quit his job at home late this month. The 62-year-old diplomat has served as South Korea's minister of foreign affairs and trade since Jan. 2004, making him one of the longest-serving foreign ministers in the country's modern history.

"The decision is up to President Roh Moo-hyun," the soft-spoken official told Yonhap News Agency, when asked when he will leave the office. "I appreciate the support of the Security Council members. I am personally honored. At the same time, I feel a heavy sense of responsibility for assuming the important role of working for the world's peace and human rights protection."

President Roh telephoned Ban to deliver a congratulatory message and said the poll results are a testimony to South Korea's diplomatic capability, according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Choo Kyu-ho.

In response, the Ban thanked Roh for the government's full support for his aspiration, Choo added.

Ban's reaffirmed lead in the race came in spite of a growing negative campaign against him. A British newspaper reported last week that the South Korean government, on Ban's behalf, has offered huge financial assistance to African nations and lucrative trade agreements to Europe to help Ban's bid. Seoul dismissed the allegations as groundless.

Ban said it was the most difficult thing during his eight-month official campaign.

"Ongoing Secretariat management reform, rebuilding trust among member countries, and greater coordination in work would be my priorities (as U.N. secretary-general)" he said.

Choi Young-jin, South Korea's ambassador to the U.N., expressed optimism that Ban would eventually win the top U.N. post.

"Now, there are little things expected" to work as obstacles against Ban's candidacy, Choi said. "As a matter of fact, the process is over."

Experts in Seoul said that Ban, if elected as the U.N. head, will enhance South Korea's brand image, as well as contributing to regional peace.

Seoul, Oct. 3 (Yonhap News)