Ban Ki-moon Drops Out

[Anchor Lead]

Former U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has announced his decision not to stand in the upcoming presidential race. Now attention has turned back to the field of potential candidates who will be courting Ban's supporters.

[Pkg]

Former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who visited the National Assembly to pay a visit to party leaders, held an emergency news conference to announce his decision to drop out of the presidential race. Ban's unexpected announcement caught everyone off guard.

[Soundbite] Ban Ki-moon(Fmr. UN Secretary-General) : "I have decided to withdraw from my heartfelt goal to overhaul politics and unite the country under my leadership."

Ban said he seriously pondered dedicating his life to politics to rescue his country from the ongoing crisis, but faced harsh reality.

[Soundbite] Ban Ki-moon(Fmr. UN Secretary-General) : "The cause for overhauling politics through my genuine patriotism and ambitions has become lost because of all the backstabbing and fake news tantamount to character assassination."

Ban said he was extremely disappointed by the selfish attitude of certain politicians, and realized that joining hands with them would be meaningless. Ban added he is ready to receive any rebuke for disappointing the public with his decision to quit the presidential race, and promised to contribute to his country in every way possible.

[Soundbite] Ban Ki-moon(Fmr. UN Secretary-General) : "I will dedicate my efforts in every way possible to resolve the crisis and build a bright future for Korea."

On his way home, Ban told reporters that he decided to drop out of the presidential race early on because he did not want to stand in the way of others, and that he had no plans to endorse any particular political party.