"I was very frustrated by parochial, selfish attitudes, and reached a conclusion that it is meaningless to move forward with them," Ban said at an impromptu news conference on Wednesday.
Ban said he would "give up my pure aspiration to achieve a change in politics under my leadership."
The former UN chief's statement comes two days after a South Korean parliamentary expert group concluded that Ban was eligible to run for president, Sputnik reported.
Ban was until recently considered one of the main potential presidential candidates for the post after lawmakers impeached President Park Geun-hye in December 2016 over a corruption scandal with her close friend and "shadow adviser" Choi Soon-sil.