Seoul Mayor Park Won-Soon Found Dead Hours After Reported Missing
Reporter Julie Sohn ㅣ 2020-07-10 09:40
Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon
Park Won-soon, the mayor of South Korea's capital, Seoul, was found dead Friday, hours after he was reported missing.
He was 64.
A massive police search found Park's body in the forested hills of Mount Bukak, near his official residence in the Jongno District, just after midnight, along with a bag, cell phone and his business card.
According to officials, there were no signs of foul play.
The police plan to investigate the exact cause of his death.
Park's daughter reported his disappearance to police at 5:17 p.m. Thursday, saying she could not reach her father on the phone.
He was said to have made "will-like" comments to his family before he left his home earlier in the day around 10:40 a.m.
Park, a former human rights lawyer and civic activist, was a member of the ruling Democratic Party.
He had served as mayor of Seoul since 2011 and he was regarded as a potential candidate to run for president in 2022.
According to local reports, Park recently faced allegations of sexual harassment.
A former secretary of Park's filed a complaint Wednesday with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, claiming she received unwanted "physical contact" and "inappropriate" messages from the mayor.