AKIPRESS.COM - Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon was found dead in Seoul on Friday, hours after he was reported missing, police said, Yonhap news agency reported.
A police search team found his body in the forested hills of Mount Bukak near his official residence, one minute after midnight. He is presumed to have taken his own life.
Police plan to investigate the exact cause of his death.
Park, 64, had reportedly faced a probe into allegations of sexual harassment against a former female secretary. She filed a formal complaint with the police on Wednesday over unwanted "physical contact" and "inappropriate" messages from Park, according to sources.
"A complaint has been received by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency," a police official said on condition of anonymity, declining to elaborate on an ongoing investigation.
"(The body) did not show particular signs of homicide," the official said, noting that an investigation will be conducted in accordance with procedures for a suicide.
Park, a member of the ruling Democratic Party, had served as mayor of Seoul since 2011 and he was regarded as a potential candidate to run for the 2022 presidential elections.
He was once a human rights lawyer and civic activist. Park had two more years in office. By law, Seo Jeong-hyup, first vice mayor for administrative affairs, will serve as acting mayor until the by-election slated for April 7, 2021.