Mayor of Seoul found dead hours after he was reported missing

The mayor of Seoul, the capital city of South Korea, has been found dead hours after being reported missing by his daughter on Thursday evening.

Park Won-soon's disappearance sparked a large-scale search operation after his daughter called police and told them her father was unaccounted for. The mayor had not shown up to work on Thursday. The police searched the neighborhood where Park's cell phone signal had last been detected.

Reportedly, the mayor vanished as a sexual harassment complaint by one of his secretaries was lodged against him on Wednesday. His daughter also told police that prior to his disappearance he had spoken to her as though he was delivering his will. 

An officer said that Park's body was located close to a traditional banquet hall in the hills of Northern Seoul early on Friday morning.

Park, 64, a liberal Democrat from the same party as current South Korean President Moon Jae-in, had been considered a presidential contender for the 2022 elections. Park was a long-time civic activist and had served as the mayor of Seoul since 2011.