Seoul: The mayor of South Korean capital Seoul has gone missing and police are searching for him Thursday. Police officers said they are looking for Mayor Park Won-soon at Sungbuk neighborhood in this city. They said it was the place where Mayor Park Won-soon’s mobile phone signal was last detected. Currently the phone is currently turned off, they added.
Daughter’s reaction
Park Won-soon’s daughter called police earlier Thursday. She said her father has been unaccounted for, the police officers said. They requested anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to media on the matter. Police gave gave no further details.
However, ‘Yonhap’ news agency reported Park’s daughter told police that her father left ‘a will-like’ message before leaving their home. ‘Yonhap’ said officers, drones and police dogs have been mobilised for Park’s search.
Kim Ji-hyeong, an official from the Seoul Metropolitan Government, confirmed that Park did not show up for work on Thursday. He said all of Park’s schedules including a meeting with a presidential official have been cancelled.
Human rights lawyer
A longtime civic activist and human rights lawyer, Park was elected as Seoul Mayor in 2011. He became the city’s first mayor to be voted into a third term in June last year. Park is a member of President Moon Jae-in’s liberal Democratic Party. He has been considered a potential presidential hopeful for the liberals in the 2022 elections.
Park has mostly maintained his activist colours as mayor. He has at times openly criticised what he described as the country’s growing social and economic inequalities. He has also been critical of the traditionally corrupt ties between large businesses and politicians.
During the earlier part of his terms, Park established himself as a fierce opponent of former conservative President Park Geun-hye.
Seoul, a city with 10 million people, has been a new epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in South Korea. The disease has rapidly spread after social distancing norms were relaxed in the South Korean capital. Authorities are struggling to trace contacts amid surges in cases linked to nightclubs and church services.