Park was a key figure in a likely joint North-South Korean bid for the 2032 Olympic & Paralympics
The Mayor of Seoul City in South Korea Park Won-soon was found dead at Mount Bugak in northern Seoul, near where his phone signal was last detected during a late night search
The Mayor had been reported missing by his daughter a day earlier amid allegations that he was facing sexual harassment probe filed by a former Seoul city staffer. A police spokesman said an investigation was being conducted into the cause of his death, but foul play had been ruled out.
A suicide note found in his office read, “I apologize to everyone and thank all those who were with me in my life. I am sorry to my family to whom I only brought pain. Cremate me and spread the ashes over the graves of my parents. Everyone, goodbye.”
Park Won-soon, an activist and lawyer who had led the capital for 10 years, He became Seoul City Mayor in 2011 and was elected to his third and final term in June 2018.
He played a high-profile role in the capital’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and was being touted to run for South Korean President in 2022. A former secretary of Park had filed a complaint of alleged incidents of sexual harassment as reported by Yonhap News Agency.
Park’s death is one of the highest profile political suicides in South Korea since former President Roh Moo-hyun killed himself in 2009 as police were investigating his family over corruption.
