Seoul Mayor Found Dead After Daughter Reports Him Missing
By Choe Sang-Hun
July 9, 2020
Updated 12:19 p.m. ET
SEOUL, South Korea — The mayor of Seoul, South Korea, the country’s most powerful official after the president, was found dead by the police, hours after his daughter reported him missing, the police said Friday. A Seoul police officer confirmed the discovery of Mr. Park’s body in a hill in northern Seoul, but said he could offer no further detail until there was a formal announcement.
His disappearance came a day after a secretary in the mayor’s office told the police that he had been sexually harassing her since 2017, two Seoul television stations reported, attributing the information to unidentified police sources.
Mr. Park, 64, canceled his official schedule for Thursday and called in sick to City Hall. His daughter told the police that he had left home after leaving a cryptic, “will-like message,” according to Yonhap, the national news agency, which cited an anonymous police source. When Mr. Park had not returned home after five hours, his daughter called the police. On Thursday evening, 580 police officers and emergency medical workers, aided by police dogs, searched the hills in northern Seoul.
The mayor of Seoul, a city of 10 million, is considered the second most powerful elected official in South Korea after the president. Mr. Park, who is serving his third term, has often been named as a possible candidate to replace President Moon Jae-in, whose single five-year term is set to end in 2022. Mr. Park has been the mayor of Seoul since 2011. His latest term was scheduled to end in 2022.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/09/world/asia/seoul-mayor-dead.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
