Mourners pay condolences to late mayor of Seoul

Seoul citizens on Saturday paid their respects to the South Korean capital's late Mayor, Park Won-soon at a public memorial set up in his honour.

City Hall officials opened the memorial outside its offices amid an outpouring of public sympathy over Park's sudden death a day earlier, amid reports that he had been implicated in a sexual harassment complaint.

The 64-year-old was found dead on a wooded hill in northern Seoul early Friday, about seven hours after his daughter reported to police he had left her a “will-like” verbal message and then left their home.

Police said there were no signs of foul play at the site but refused to disclose his cause of death.

Seoul citizen Moon Dae-sang said he wanted to visit the memorial as he "respected and agreed" with the mayor, a huge figure in South Korean politics.

As a former human rights lawyer, Park led two of South Korea’s most influential civic groups and was mayor of Seoul, the South Korean capital city with 10 million people, since 2011.

He was widely considered a leading liberal candidate for president when his political ally and current President Moon Jae-in’s single five-year term ends in 2022.