UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in a small folk village in southeastern South Korea on Sunday, a trip widely seen as the start of a presidential campaign ahead of next year's election, according to Yonhap News Agency. 

Ban, who is on a six-day visit to his native South Korea, made headlines last week after he told senior reporters on the southern resort island of Jeju that he would contemplate his future as a South Korean citizen once he steps down from his U.N. post at the end of this year. The remarks were interpreted as the strongest indication yet that he could run for South Korea's presidency in the next election slated for December 2017.

Ban's decision to visit Hahoe, which was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2010, fueled speculation over his presidential ambitions because the tranquil village sits in North Gyeongsang Province, a stronghold of the ruling Saenuri Party. The U.N. chief has long been talked about as a strong contender in the conservative ruling camp, even though he served as the foreign minister under the liberal Roh Moo-hyun administration.

Source : MENA