U.N. chief holds secret wedding for his only son

NEW YORK, May 9 (Yonhap) -- U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has surprised
international diplomats stationed here after belatedly disclosing that he
secretly held his only son's wedding in New York on Saturday.
According to U.N. officials, the "confidential" wedding ceremony for Ban Woo-hyun
and his bride, You Je-young, was held at a small cathedral in Manhattan with only
relatives of both families and a "small number" of acquaintances attending.
The Ban family also refused to accept cash and other gifts from the guests, said
the officials.
Ban's aides said the top U.N. official had kept his son's wedding ceremony
secret, as he wished to celebrate it as a quiet family event, adding only around
150 guests were invited to the event.
"Ban may have thought that an ostentatious wedding party for his son would be
inappropriate for the U.N. chief, as he is now spearheading U.N. reforms," said
an aide.
"In addition, he could also have been burdened by a frequent mentioning of him as
one of South Korea's next presidential candidates."
Ban allegedly offered an apology for keeping his son's wedding secret when he
encountered reporters after the wedding ceremony.
"I'm sorry for (my son's) stealth wedding," Ban was quoted as saying, with an
awkward smile on his face.
Ban, who took office as the U.N. chief in 2007, gained acclaim for also
discreetly holding weddings for his two daughters while serving as South Korea's
foreign minister years ago.
Ban Woo-hyun, the 35-year-old son of the U.N. chief, graduated from Seoul
National University before receiving an MBA degree at the University of
California in Los Angeles (UCLA). He currently works for a Middle East branch of
a New York-based financial company. The 27-year-old You Je-young is the eldest
daughter of You Won-suk, vice chairman of the Korean Bar Association. She is
studying at Brown University's medical school.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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