Seoul mayor who went missing found dead

SEOUL: The mayor of Seoul was found dead on Friday, South Korea's news agency reported, after police mounted a large search when his daughter reported him missing.

The body of Park Won-soon was found by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency at Mt Bugak in northern Seoul, near where his phone signal was last detected during a late night search, Yonhap

said.

Yonhap said the mayor's daughter reported him missing at 5:17 pm (0817 GMT) and said his phone was off and that he had left a message "like a will".

As longtime mayor of the city of nearly 10 million people, Park was one of the country's most influential politicians and played a high-profile role in its response to the Coronavirus pandemic.

He was seen as a potential presidential hopeful for the liberals in the 2022 presidential elections.

Hundreds of South Korean police using drones and dogs had searched for the mayor on Thursday after his daughter reported him missing, officials said.

Park left the official residence at around 10:40 a.m., wearing a black hat and a backpack, having cancelled a policy meeting that was scheduled for Thursday morning, according to multiple local

reports.