Seoul mayor reported missing, search underway, South Korean police say

The mayor of South Korean capital Seoul has been reported missing and search operations are underway on Thursday, police said.

Police officers said they are looking for Mayor Park Won-sun at Seoul's Sungbuk neighborhood where his mobile phone signal was last detected.

His daughter called police earlier Thursday and said her father has been unaccounted for, the police officers said, requesting anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media on the matter.

US ENVOY ARRIVES IN SOUTH KOREA AS NORTH SAYS IT HAS 'NO INTENTION' TO RESUME NUCLEAR TALKS 

FILE - In this June 5, 2014, file photo, Park Won-soon, then candidate for Seoul city mayor of the main opposition party New Politics Alliance for Democracy celebrates his victory in the Seoul mayoral election at his office in Seoul, South Korea. Police say on Thursday, July 9, 2020, Park, the current mayor of South Korean capital Seoul, has been reported missing and search operations are underway.(AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)

Kim Ji-hyeong, an official from the Seoul Metropolitan Government, confirmed that Park did not show up for work on Thursday because of unspecified reasons and canceled all his schedules, including a meeting with a presidential official at his Seoul City Hall office.

A longtime civic activist and human rights lawyer, Park was elected Seoul mayor in 2011 and voted into his third and last term in June last year.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

A member of President Moon Jae-in’s liberal Democratic Party, Park had been considered a potential presidential hopeful for the liberals in the 2022 elections.