Seoul's Mayor Found Dead After Message to Daughter

The mayor of the South Korean capital of Seoul has been found dead following a massive police search, reports CNN. Park Won-soon, who had been seen as a possible presidential candidate, was reported missing Thursday after being named in a sexual harassment complaint. The 64-year-old's phone had been turned off, but it was last detected near a hill in Seoul's Seongbuk neighborhood, where the police search was focused, reports the BBC. Park's daughter reported the former human-rights lawyer missing around 5pm local time Thursday (4am ET), telling police he'd departed the house four or five hours earlier after leaving a verbal message that sounded like a will, per the AP.

Park didn't show up at work on Thursday. A city official confirmed he'd cleared his schedule, which meant canceling a planned City Hall meeting with a presidential official. In a tweet, the BBC's Laura Bicker confirmed that a sexual harassment claim against Park was filed Wednesday night "by a female working in the secretary's office." A member of President Moon Jae-in's Democratic Party, Park was viewed as a potential presidential hopeful for 2022. He had been mayor of Seoul since 2011, but he was elected to his third and final term in June 2018. (More Seoul stories.)