A Russian national has been found dead at a shuttered zoo in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province.
The deceased, a male aged 67 years, had worked as a zookeeper at the facility until it was closed in 2023.
The zookeeper was spotted at 12:45 p.m. on Sept. 11 by an individual who had gone to the zoo to purchase items from the defunct business, Gimhae Seobu Police Station told local media on Sunday.
Bugyeong Zoo had been out of business since August last year after it had come under fire for holding a visibly malnourished lion named Barami in an indoor cage.
Neither animals nor permanent staff were in the zoo when the zookeeper was found.
The 67-year-old man was reportedly lying on the ground in a lion cage. Police suspect it had been several weeks since he had passed away.
An autopsy revealed no signs of foul play nor medical conditions that could have been the cause of death, according to police.
The National Forensic Service is carrying out tests to determine if the man had ingested poisonous materials.
Police found clothes and pots in the zoo. They suspect that the zookeeper, who had been unregistered with immigration authorities, was residing alone at the shuttered facility.
Police gave notice of the death to the Russian Embassy in Seoul and plan to close the case if no signs of criminal involvement emerge, according to local media.
