Park Won-soon, the longtime mayor of South Korea's capital, Seoul, has been found dead after he was reported missing by his daughter amid a criminal probe and media reports of alleged sexual harassment.
His body was found in wooded hills in northern Seoul at about midnight on Friday, more than seven hours after police launched a massive search for him.
Police said there were no signs of foul play and did not give a cause of Park's death.
The apparent suicide came after one of Park's former secretaries filed a complaint on Wednesday alleging the 64-year-old had sexually harassed her, the Yonhap news agency reported.
Police confirmed a criminal complaint had been made against Park but did not elaborate on the nature of the allegations.
"I apologise to everyone," Park wrote in a note left on his desk and released by the city government with the permission of his family.
"I thank everyone who was with me in my lifetime. I am so sorry to my family, to whom I have only caused pain. Please cremate my body and scatter the ash over my parents' grave," the note said.
A representative for Park's family issued a statement on their behalf saying it was time to let him go and urging people to avoid spreading "groundless statements".
"If acts of defaming him continue irrespective of the truth, we will sternly respond with legal action," said Moon Mi-ran, who formerly served as deputy mayor under Park.
Park was reported missing by his daughter on at 5:17pm (08:17 GMT) on Thursday, according to the police. Yonhap news agency reported that she also told police he had left a message "like a will".
Kim Ji-hyeong, a Seoul Metropolitan Government official, said Park did not come to work on Thursday for unspecified reasons and had cancelled all of his schedule, including a meeting with a presidential official at his Seoul City Hall office.
Park left the mayor's official residence at approximately 10:40am on Thursday, wearing a black hat and a backpack, according to the police, and was identified by a security camera at 10:53am at the entrance to the Mount Bugak hills.
Authorities mobilised about 600 police and fire officers, drones and tracking dogs to locate him.
Choi Ik-su, an officer from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, said rescue dogs found Park's body, and that his bag, cellphone and business cards had been recovered.