[EDITORIALS]Mr. Ban and the UN

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[EDITORIALS]Mr. Ban and the UN

Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon has almost secured the job of secretary general of the United Nations. In the fourth straw poll at the United Nations Security Council, where the five permanent members have a veto, Mr. Ban received 14 votes in favor and one no-opinion vote, the best result among contenders for the job.
Unless something unusual happens, Mr. Ban will be the Security Council’s candidate and will be endorsed by the General Assembly to become the secretary general of the United Nations, the world’s senior diplomatic job. This is an honor for him and for this country.
South Korea has been inseparable from the United Nations in its modern history. In 1948, South Korea had a general election under United Nations monitoring and founded a country based on liberal democracy and a market economy.
During the Korean War, the Security Council decided to send armed forces to the Korean Peninsula so that we could avoid being communized.
From then on, assistance from the United Nations and Koreans’ efforts have made our country develop very far.
Thanks to the United Nations, South Korea secured a deterrence against North Korea so another war was prevented from happening.
South Korea has become the world’s 11th-largest economy. It has advanced in terms of democracy as well.
In short, South Korea has become a model in international society that has implanted the three goals of the United Nations: peace, economic development and human rights. This was the most important reason for the results of the straw poll.
We hope that Mr. Ban will make efforts for Korea to become a more respected nation in international society.
This news is also meaningful because it can advance our diplomatic capacity even further. For the past 60 years, Korean diplomacy has moved along with four countries, the United States, China, Japan and Russia. But if a Korean is the secretary general of the United Nations, its diplomatic capability will broaden.
Mr. Ban and Korea will have more burdens and responsibilities as well. Korea has delayed its payments to the United Nations and given little foreign aid by international standards.
What’s more important is to create a public mood that we should develop our country to meet the expectations of global society.
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