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| Ban drinks during his memorial service for his late father in Eumseong County, North Chungcheong Province, Jan. 14. / Screen capture from YouTube |
By Ko Dong-hwan
Former U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon, second in presidential opinion polls, is being pummeled by embarrassing headlines and critics over a series of alleged slip-ups.
Ban arrived back in Seoul on Jan. 12 after ending his tenure as United Nations Secretary-General in New York.
Some of the alleged gaffes were verified, while others were a mere blooper or mash-up spread by the anti-Ban movement. The latter's example is a social media video of Ban attending a memorial service at his father's tomb at Eumseong County in North Chungcheong Province on Saturday.
The 12-second video purported to show that Ban infringed tradition by drinking the first glass of liquor reserved for his late father. The rule, respected by most Koreans, says the first glass must be poured on tombs while the second is for drinking.
The video prompted critical comments online, such as Ban "does not know a basic manner" and "everything he does looks out of tune."
But the full video proved otherwise, showing Ban keeping the tradition. Ban's presidential committee said the video was "vilifying and rueful" and Ban "served according to his hometown tradition of the rite, which differs by region."
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| Ban tries to jam two 10,000-won bills into a subway ticket dispenser at Incheon International Airport, Jan. 12. / Courtesy of Hankook Ilbo |
Ban's flip-o-meter cranked up its first notch the moment he arrived at Incheon International Airport. Ban, swamped by hundreds of journalists and fans, visited a convenience shop and picked up a bottle of water made in France. But he quickly changed to a Korean brand after advice from an aide.
And it did not look promising when he was caught squeezing two 10,000 won bills into a subway ticket dispenser. It was a rather embarrassing moment as general subway riders are used to inserting the bills one at a time. Critics said it hinted at how distanced he is from the public.
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| Ban writes on a visitor's book at Seoul National Cemetery, Jan. 13. / Courtesy of Hankook Ilbo |
Unaware he was destined for another red-faced moment, Ban next day headed to Seoul National Cemetery. It came when he took a "cheat sheet" from his pocket to write in the visitors' book, a rare act because most visitors do it offhand.
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| Ban helps an elderly woman with a meal at Kkottongnae in Eumseong County, North Chungcheong Province, Jan. 14. / Courtesy of Hankook Ilbo |
Ban's rickety public outings continued on Saturday when he dropped by Kkottongnae, a community in Gapyeong County, Gyeonggi Province, for disabled people. TV news reports showed him feeding porridge to an elderly woman on bed. But the fact he was wearing an apron drew flak that the item was not for him but for the woman. He also spilled some of the watery meal over her face, which added to the criticism.
The latest episode was Tuesday, when he visited Bongha Village in South Gyeongsang Province to pay his respects to former President Roh Moo-hyun. The venue, the birthplace of the late Roh, has spiritual standing as a "shrine" for political liberalists.
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| Ban writes on a visitor's book in Bongha Village, the hometown of late President Roh Moo-hyun, in South Gyeongsang Province, Jan. 17. / Courtesy of Hankook Ilbo |
Leaving his mark in a visitors' book, Ban mistook quoting one of Roh's most popular slogans ― "making the world for people" ― by replacing "world" with "society." Many mocked Ban's mistake, including Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Jung Chung-rae. With photographic evidence of Ban's note, Jung advised him on SNS to "copy from a cheat sheet if that's too difficult for you."
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| Ban visits Paengmok Harbor on Jindo Island, South Jeolla Province, Jan. 17. / Screen capture from YouTube |
Another public misstep came the same day, when he visited Paengmok Harbor on Jindo Island to pay his respects to the victims of the Sewol ferry sinking. But the visit stoked cynicism that he went there only to "show off."
Seoul National University Prof. Cho Guk said Ban "never expressed sympathy to the victims, except in 2014 when he visited a memorial house in New York City for the disaster."
"Paengmok Harbor is not a place for your political show," the popular progressive campaigner said.
Commentators are preying on Ban's mistakes because they argue the U.N. career that took him away from Korea for the past 10 years makes him unfit to run the country.
YTN downplayed Ban's mistakes, saying the daily flip-o-meter is because he "just has not been used to such things."
