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Seoul mayor found dead, police official says Seoul mayor found dead amid harassment claim, police say
(about 3 hours later)
SEOUL — A South Korean police official said Friday that the mayor of Seoul was found dead after his daughter reported him missing. SEOUL — The mayor of South Korea's capital, Seoul, was found dead on Friday after his secretary accused him of sexual harassment earlier in the week, police said.
The official asked not to be named, citing department rules. Seoul police official Choi Ik-soo told reporters on Friday that there was no sign of foul play in the death of the mayor, Park Won-soon. His body was found in the hills in northern Seoul early Friday, hours after his daughter reported him missing.
The search for Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon was focused on the hilly Seongbuk neighborhood in the northern part of the South Korean capital, where his phone signal was last detected, said a spokeswoman for Seoul Seongbuk Police Department. She told the police that her father left a "will-like message" before leaving home on Thursday, South Korea's semiofficial Yonhap news agency reported, citing an unnamed police source.
Park's daughter called police late Thursday and said her father could not be reached on the phone, South Korea's semiofficial Yonhap news agency reported, citing an anonymous police source. She told police that Park left a “will-like” message before leaving their family home earlier that day, according to Yonhap. Park went missing one day after one of his former secretaries formally accused him of harassing her, according to local media reports. Major South Korean broadcaster SBS reported late Thursday that a woman who worked as Park's secretary since 2017 allegedly suffered from repeated actions of sexual harassment by him.
The Seoul metropolitan government said early Thursday that Park canceled his official schedule for the day without specifying a reason. Park was scheduled to meet a presidential official Thursday afternoon at his office in Seoul City Hall. Police official Choi confirmed that a sexual harassment complaint was filed against the mayor on Wednesday, but declined to give further details on the case.
As mayor of Seoul, population 10 million, Park is considered the second most powerful elected official in South Korea after the president. The 64-year-old began serving as Seoul mayor in 2011 and was seen as a presidential hopeful for the liberal Democratic Party in the 2022 election. Seoul mayor was outspoken liberal who eyed the presidency
Formerly a student activist, Park became a human rights lawyer and led influential civic groups. He has been a vocal critic of social inequality and spoke out against members of the country’s conservative elites, including Park Geun-hye when she was president. As mayor of Seoul, he supported rallies against her over a corruption scandal that eventually led to her impeachment. Park has been a high-profile supporter of the #MeToo movement in South Korea and, as a lawyer in the 1990s, won one of South Korea's earliest cases on sexual harassment.
South Korean broadcaster SBS reported that a former secretary of Park filed a sexual harassment claim against him on Wednesday evening. Hundreds of police and fire officers, aided by drones and sniffer dogs, searched for hours for the missing mayor in Seoul's hilly Seongbuk neighborhood, where his phone signal was last detected.
One of the dogs located Park's body off the hiking trail of Bugak Mountain, and officers confirmed the mayor's identity through his belongings which included business cards and stationaries.
No suicide note was found at the scene, said police official Choi. He said police are conducting an autopsy to find out the cause of death but refused to give further details on the findings.
As mayor of Seoul, population 10 million, Park was considered a potential presidential hopeful for the liberals in the 2022 election. The 64-year-old became the capital's first mayor to be elected to a third term in 2018. He most recently won praise for the city's aggressive approach to containing the coronavirus outbreak.
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Formerly a student activist, Park worked as a human rights lawyer and led influential civic groups before becoming mayor. He has been a vocal critic of social inequality and spoke out against members of the country's conservative elites, including former president Park Geun-hye. As mayor of Seoul, he supported rallies against the former president over a corruption scandal that eventually led to her impeachment.
Park was a strong advocate for so-called “comfort women,” those who were forced to work in the sex trade during Japan’s occupation of the Korean Peninsula that ended after World War II.
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