U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s arrival in South Korea for a five-day visit beginning Monday revived rumors of his bid for the 2017 presidential race here, despite his apparent efforts to downplay the reports.

Ban arrived in Seoul to attend the World Education Forum in Incheon. During his visit, Ban is also set to meet President Park Geun-hye, National Assembly Speaker Rep. Chung Ui-hwa and Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se to strengthen South Korea-U.N. ties.

Despite Ban’s repeated denial, the possibility that the South Korean, who was the country’s foreign minister from 2004 to 2006, could run for president remains a viable scenario, observers said.

“Ban will likely be invited to run if one of the main political parties feel they do not have a strong enough candidate to compete with the other party,” said Choi Young-jin, professor of Korean politics at Chung-Ang University.

“Right now, the ruling Saenuri Party appears to be the likelier party to invite Ban,” Choi said, as the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy has an array of popular politicians who could run in 2017, including party chair Rep. Moon Jae-in and Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon.

“Ban is adept at hiding his political motives,” Choi added. “He is a skilled politician and celebrated figure here who has a valuable political resource. Not many hate him.”

Rumors that Ban would run in South Korea’s biggest political election began to surface last October. A report written by the chief executive of local opinion surveyor Realmeter went viral as it mentioned openly for the first time that Ban could run as the ruling Saenuri Party’s candidate in 2017.

Ban denied the possibility through his spokesperson in November. He appeared intent on further distancing himself from the presidential rumors and focusing on U.N.-related events during his visit to Korea this week.

The U.N. chief will speak Tuesday at the WEF, a U.N.-sponsored event promoting the Education for All Movement, which aims to provide basic education worldwide.

Ban, meanwhile, chose to skip a visit to his hometown in Eumseong County, South Chungcheong Province, a destination currently embroiled in a politicized graft scandal involving a deceased businessman from the region who has ties to close relatives of Ban.

Sung Woan-jong, the former chairman of construction firm Keangnam Enterprises, committed suicide last month under suspicion of fabricating accounting records. Sung alleged before his death that he had given bribes to eight ruling bloc officials, sparking public uproar.

Reports have since risen that Ban’s nephew Bahn Joo-hyun and Ban’s brother Ban Ki-sang had ties to Keangnam.

Bahn worked as a middleman in the sale of a building built by Keangnam Enterprises in Vietnam to the Qatar Investment Authority in 2013. Bahn allegedly faked documentation to speed up the sale. Ban Ki-sang was a senior adviser to Keangnam at the time.

But one parliamentary source who spoke on the condition of anonymity downplayed the likelihood of Ban running in 2017.

“(Saenuri chair) Rep. Kim Moo-sung and (NPAD chair) Rep. Moon Jae-in are highly unlikely to welcome a potential presidential rival as strong as Ban to their party,” the source said.

“The rumor is political nonsense and a political impossibility.”

By Jeong Hunny (hj257@heraldcorp.com)