Court rejects police request for access to late Seoul mayor's mobile phones

Police had filed a request to acquire the call history for three mobile phones under Park's name, including his official phone that was retrieved when Park was found dead at a Seoul mountain last week, Yonhap news agency reported.

The Seoul Northern District Court said while phone access can be granted in criminal investigations, there was "a lack of explanation for a mandatory probe" in this case. There was no explanation of whether the cause of his death was related to a crime, such as murder, it added.

Park is suspected of taking his own life. Police said there were no signs of foul play and the city government released a handwritten note by Park, which said that he was "sorry" to everyone, without elaborating.

Park's abrupt death came a day after a former secretary filed a complaint with the police about his alleged sexual harassment. Civic groups and a lawyer representing the victim claimed that the public servant suffered unwanted physical contact and received inappropriate messages from Park for over four years.

Police reportedly have secured part of his call history for the day of his death and the previous day. An official said police plan to probe people with whom he talked to determine the exact cause of his death.

Investigators have been stepping up their probe surrounding the case, questioning former and incumbent officials, including Park's former chief secretary, at the city government.