In general, Koreans follow politics closely. You can easily overhear people discussing politics on mountain trails, at family gatherings for Chuseok and in bars and restaurants.

I am still awed whenever I encounter cab drivers who are as well acquainted with political issues as commentators and political reporters are. Sometimes I have to pretend to be asleep if I come across a driver who is a very passionate follower of politics and a vigorous speaker. 

One of the most popular topics among Koreans is presidential politics. So much so that even as a new president is elected, people start talking about who the next presidential contenders will be.

It is not surprising, therefore, that we have already begun to see opinion poll results on potential candidates for the 2017 election, even though there are more than three years left in President Park Geun-hye’s five-year term in office.

What’s interesting, though not incomprehensible, is that the recent polls favor U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon ― by a huge margin ― over all other potential presidential contenders, including Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, Rep. Moon Jae-in and Rep. Kim Moo-sung.

Why does Ban enjoy such a lead, when he is as far from Korean politics as his home in New York is from Seoul, even though he has never given the slightest indication of interest in politics, let alone the presidency?

People are drawn to Ban for two reasons: disillusionment with politicians, who they see as corrupt, treacherous and confrontational, and his personal strengths.

As such, an increasing number of people are deserting major potential presidential candidates like Park, Moon and Kim, all of whom happen to have recently faced public criticism for different reasons.

Poll figures back this trend. Ban’s approval rating in the latest poll, released Oct. 20, surged to 39.7 percent, from 23.1 percent in June when the same pollster conducted its previous survey.

On the contrary, the popularity of Mayor Park, a distant runner-up, went down from 15.3 percent in June to 13.5 percent in October. Moon, who lost the last presidential election to President Park Geun-hye, also saw his popularity drop, from 14.2 percent to 9.3 percent.

With the presidential election more than three years away and with Ban having repeatedly rejected any possibility of plunging into Korean politics, these surveys may be meaningless. Politics is shrouded in uncertainty, after all.

But what should be noted is that Ban has been mentioned as a potential presidential candidate for a long time, and that his name is now being called louder and more frequently.

Those who support the U.N. chief cite his leadership, demonstrated by the successful running of such a vast organization as the U.N., and experience in dealing with international conflicts, among other things.

Having spent his entire public career in foreign service, Ban also has a clean and fresh image and personal attributes like a moderate and sensible personality and mild appearance and manner.

Besides these personal merits, Ban’s popularity is getting a boost from an unexpected source ― the factional rivalry in the ruling Saenuri Party, between the group loyal to President Park and the one loyal to party leader Rep. Kim Moo-sung.

Kim worked for Park when she made her first presidential bid in 2007, but has since been alienated from the president. As party leader, he has been consolidating his power base, which makes Park loyalists nervous.

The pro-Park group may well need to keep Kim in check, and one effective measure is to recruit ― or to talk about the possibility of recruiting ― a heavyweight like Ban who they think can win the party’s presidential ticket in 2017 and eventually succeed their boss.

This necessity gained urgency recently, as Kim challenged the president twice ― on a constitutional amendment and the timing of the government workers’ pension reform.

It may not be a coincidence that Saenuri members loyal to Park held a forum Wednesday on the “outlook for the 2017 presidential election,” in which Ban’s candidature was a major topic.

Political commentator Lee Taik-soo said at the forum that Ban, though hailing from Chungcheong, enjoys high popularity in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, Saenuri’s home turf, and ruling party supporters elsewhere in the country.

“He should run on the Saenuri ticket if he decides to run,” Lee said.

In fact, a growing number of lawmakers close to Park mention Ban as the only one who can defeat Seoul Mayor Park, who, excluding the U.N. chief, is leading all the popularity polls for the next presidential elections.

As long as the pro-Park faction fails to find a strong candidate who can overwhelm Kim and other potential presidential candidates from their rival factions, its one-sided love for Ban will continue. 

By Chon Shi-yong

Chon Shi-yong is the chief editorial writer for The Korea Herald. He can be reached at sychon@heraldcorp.com. ― Ed.