Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s surprise decision not to run for the presidency prompted mixed responses from political communities Wednesday.

The two main conservative parties expressed shock and regret for losing their potential standard-bearer, while the opposition camp welcomed his decision to forgo a presidential bid.

“Given that there was much expectation that Ban would have made more contribution to the country, we are so shocked and it’s unfortunate to see him making such a decision,” said Kim Sung-won, spokesman for the ruling Saenuri Party. 

The conservative party, which had considered bringing in Ban to promote him as its presidential candidate, blamed the opposition camp for his withdrawal, saying he left in the face of unlawful slander from opposition parties, which party officials claimed amounted to the “killing of an individual.” 

Since returning home in January upon wrapping up 10 years at the head of the UN, Ban has been under attack from opposition parties for supporting the controversial wartime sex slavery deal with Japan and allegations of receiving $230,000 from a local businessman while serving as South Korea‘s foreign minister in the 2000s. 

The Saenuri Party’s breakaway group, the Bareun Party, said that even though Ban decided not to run for the presidency, the party hopes he will support them during the presidential election. Most of the Bareun Party’s lawmakers urged Ban to join them, but some doubted whether he would be a good fit for the reformative group.  

“Admittedly, it’s astonishing. But we respect Ban’s enthusiasm for new politics,” said Rep. Chang Je-won, a spokesperson for the Bareun Party. “Although he decided not to run, we hope that Ban will support our efforts to bring political reform.” 

Opposition parties, meanwhile, said Ban’s decision is the reflection of the people’s willingness to change the government amid the massive political scandal that led to the parliamentary impeachment of President Park Geun-hye. 

“It’s a surprise, but we respect his decision,” said Yoon Kwan-suk, a spokesperson of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea. “What the people want right now is a change of government. Building a new government is what the people want.” 

Moon Jae-in, the Democratic Party front-runner who has maintained a solid lead over Ban in recent polls, said although he was “caught off guard” by Ban’s decision, he would seek Ban’s insight on foreign affairs and in other policy areas. 

“Considering the steps taken by Ban, It’s a surprise. I was looking forward to good competition,” Moon told reporters. “I think there is a lot of ways that Ban can make contributions for our country beside politics. I expect Ban to use his experience to contribute to our country.”

By Yeo Jun-suk(jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)