As the world witnesses the current mess of the upcoming Korean election, many people around the world may be wondering why the most prominent Korean with an apparently impeccable reputation isn’t running - Ban-Ki-Moon. Praised as a hardworking leader while he was serving the role in the United Nations, he made strides towards both the issues of climate change and poverty and left office being considered as one of the best UN Secretary Generals in history. Recently, Park Geun-Hye has been impeached, leaving the entire country wondering who will take power next. People abroad may be confused about why Ban Ki Moon isn’t rushing to the rescue, given his political accomplishments and international stature, as opposed to accepting the humble job of being a professor at Harvard instead.

As a Korean high school student, it is difficult to comment on those controversial political issues openly. But I feel confident in stating that when Ban Ki Moon decided to run for the election, I and many other Koreans doubted whether he has enough domestic experience to understand the Korean citizens, not the international community.

First of all, the biggest public mistake he made which made Koreans hesitant to support him politically was his statements about the Japan-Korea Comfort Women agreement. He said, “President Park would be praised for her visions and actions, and congratulations for ending the Japan-Korea issue which has been going on for 24 years.”

This would have seemed like a typical statement from any politician if it were not for the fact that this agreement was essentially accepting money from Japan to ignore one of the most outrageous crimes committed against our country in history.

Koreans were stunned to see Ban Ki Moon - the face of Korea to many people around the world - supporting such a wretched agreement publically. Korea has to this day never even gotten any kind of public apology from the Japanese in the first place. This hurt our national pride and our trust in our government, not to mention Ban Ki Moon’s ability to stand up for our country if he were to become President in the future.

When Park Geun-Hye was finally impeached, there were almost no politicians left that had the trust of the Korean people. While Ban Ki Moon still had some credibility, despite all these mistakes, many outside observers around the world believed he may be the best choice to become the next president. His seemingly impeccable reputation was internationally respected, even though some Koreans personally disliked some of his previous decisions.

Yet when he announced his intention to run, it was found out that he he would actually be breaking the Terms of Appointment of the Secretary General, and on clause 11, it claims that “A UN member country should not provide any governmental place for the person who has served as the secretary general” and it also includes that the Secretary General should refrain from accepting it, in case of the UN information are abused. He casually dismissed these laws, which harbored a great deal of resentment among ordinary Koreans who disliked his sense of entitlement to the presidency. This caused the approval rating of Ban drop constantly, and Ban decided to get off the track to presidency.

Koreans are sick of leaders who are unable to stand up for their country, especially after such a long string of so many presidents who were inefficient, incompetent, and riddled with scandals. We need a strong leader who stands up for what he believes in and defends our country rather than only looking out for their own self-interest and their own personal ambitions.

South Korea has been a country that has been through countless struggles, both economic and political, all throughout modern history. Yet only in few decades, we became one of the G20 and have demonstrated one of the most rapid economic periods of growth in world history. However, Korea’s political culture has not had enough time to catch up with its economic development, having constant political scandals from one president after another.

Ban Ki Moon may have been the one person who could have been a clear front-runner in the current Korean election which unprecedentedly has as many as five possible candidates who could potentially win - and clean up this entire mess. A seemingly spotless and pure-intentioned public figure who is genuinely looking out for the Korean people. But I believe that his international stature and experience is not the same thing as having the kind of experience that a Korean president needs to have among his own people in order to be a true leader.

I wish him all the best and I hope that he becomes a great professor in Harvard, and stays there, giving advice to Koreans from afar.