Former UN chief Ban Ki-moon said in a televised press conference Thursday that South Korea should achieve a grand unity, vowing to devote himself to uniting the country.
Ban arrived in his home country after ending his second, five-year term in the top UN post late last year.
He has been long viewed as the most powerful contender of the conservative bloc in the next presidential race as President Park Geun-hye was impeached a month earlier and her Saenuri Party saw a drop in public support.
Local media outlets have speculated that Ban actually unveiled his willingness to run for presidency though he has never officially declared his candidacy.
Ban said his country should end various internal divisions, including wealth inequality and conflicts in ideologies, regions and generations, stressing the grand unity must be achieved.
The former South Korean diplomat reiterated his pledge to devote himself to South Korea, saying that public wish disclosed in the square must be cherished.
