South Korean diplomat Ban Ki-moon, who is the former Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), has been hired by Harvard University. This came after he withdrew from Korea's presidential race, after former President Park Geun-hye was impeached due to her involvement in a corruption scandal.
The former Secretary General of UN will be heading to the United States on Mar. 24. Ban, 72, will not be teaching regularly in Harvard University but will be a visiting professor and will have occasional seminars, Yonhap News Agency reported.
This type of agreement is usually reserved for presidents or prime ministers. It has been given to former Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Finnish President Tarja Halonen.
Harvard University will be offering Ban Ki-moon a secretary and residence. He will be accompanied by his wife Yoo Soon-taek, according to Korea Times.
On Thursday, his aide said that he is expected to finish the job and return to South Korea in July. Before he will be leaving for the U.S. next week, he has been scheduled to attend several public events.
The events include a launching ceremony for his latest book, which is scheduled for Mar. 16. On Mar. 20, he will be attending a global peace forum hosted by supporters from Chungcheong Province.
Last month, Ban Ki-moon announced that he will not be a candidate for the presidential election. It has been confirmed that the election will be on May 9.
Several of his conservative supporters purportedly tried to persuade him to run for office but he refused. He has said that his public appearances did not imply that he wants to rejoin Korean politics.
Back in 2014, Harvard Foundation named Ban as Humanitarian of the Year. He has been described as a role model for the university's students as a symbol of humanitarianism. Grammy Award-winning Rihanna received the award this year for her philanthropic efforts.
