New UN chief first to publicly disclose finances

United Nations, Jan 27: New United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon and his wife have assets valued at 1.2 million to 2.5 million dollar, he said in the first financial disclosure made public by a UN secretary-general.

Ban also revealed he made less than 0,000 in salary as South Korea's foreign minister last year. Ban became foreign minister in January 2004 but stepped down last November to begin the transition to his new job, which began on January 1.

Last April, the world body ordered its most senior staff to file disclosure forms after investigations of the oil-for-food program for Iraq and the procurement department turned up evidence of significant mismanagement and corruption.

The rule did not apply to the post of secretary-general.

Then-U N leader Kofi Annan, asked if he would file a form on a voluntary basis, initially declined but later changed his mind. However, he never made it public.

A review of Ban's disclosure form by accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers concluded that ''no further action is required of him with respect to his compliance'' with the program, U N spokesman Farhan Haq said.

The nine-page form showed Ban's costliest assets, valued at between 500,001 and 1 million dollar, are an apartment and a plot of residential land in Seoul.

His wife, Yoo Soon-taek, owns a plot of non-residential land in Seoul. The couple's other assets are in bank accounts.

Ban checked the ''no'' box to a question asking if he had ever been involved in an activity that could harm the image of the United Nations or compromise his objectivity or independence in his U N duties.

He also disclosed he has two relatives working for the United Nations. His daughter Ban Hyun-hee and son-in-law Siddarth Chatterjee work in the Kenya office of the U N Children's Fund UNI