Ex-UN chief to lead Seoul’s fight against air pollution

By Riyaz ul Khaliq</p> <p>ANKARA (AA) – South Korea has appointed former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon as head of a new organization to tackle air pollution in the country, local media reported Thursday.</p> <p>The UN secretary general made the decision public after meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the presidential office on Thursday, according to Yonhap news agency.</p> <p>Ban stepped down as the UN secretary general in late 2016.</p> <p>President Moon asked Ban to help his government tackle the issue of fine dust pollution, “which could upset his country's fragile relations with China”, the news agency said.</p> <p>South Korea has blamed China for air pollution in the country.</p> <p>However, Beijing insisted there was no scientific evidence to prove any link between air pollution in China and that in South Korea, according to Yonhap.</p> <p>After his meeting with President Moon, Ban said: &quot;Many have expressed concerns [about me taking the job] and it was because fine dust pollution is a complicated issue caused by many factors inside and outside of the country that will not be easy to solve.&quot;</p> <p>&quot;I believe it is important to first scientifically identify the local and overseas sources of fine dust. It is true that a large part has already been identified but we still need to prove them scientifically,&quot; Yonhap quoted Ban as saying.