Mayor of South Korean capital found dead after leaving "sorry" note

Seoul - People pay their respects to the late Mayor of Seoul, Park Won-soon, at a memorial in the South Korean capital on July 10, 2020. The three-term mayor of South Korea's sprawling capital city was found dead early Friday morning in mountains north of Seoul. 

City officials said he left a short "will-like" message apologizing to his family and the Korean people just days after reportedly being accused of sexual misconduct by a former secretary. 

Police launched a search for Mayor Park Won-soon early Thursday evening after his daughter reported him missing. 

Hundreds of police officers used sniffer dogs and drones in the seven-hour search for Park, focusing on the mountains north of Seoul where his cell phone signal was last detected. His body was found late Thursday night on Mount Bugak. Police have not commented on the cause of his death. 

A photo provided by the government of Seoul shows a note left by Mayor Park Won-soon at his official residence hours before his body was found on the mountain outside the South Korean capital, on July 9, 2020. 

Before Park was elected mayor in 2011, he was a human rights lawyer. He rose to national political prominence in the years since, becoming a popular progressive, with feminist beliefs, and even being discussed as a possible presidential candidate.

Handout/Seoul city government

South Korea

CBS News/Jen Kwon

USA