"Today, Sunday 7 October, the INTERPOL General Secretariat in Lyon, France received the resignation of Mr Meng Hongwei as President of INTERPOL with immediate effect. Under the terms of INTERPOL's Constitution and internal regulations, the Senior Vice-President serving on INTERPOL's Executive Committee, Mr Kim Jong Yang of South Korea, becomes the Acting President," the statement published on Twitter reads.
The organization added that a new president would be elected for the remaining two years of the current mandate in late November.
READ MORE: Chinese Authorities Suspect Interpol President of Corruption — Reports
Earlier in the day, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China said in a statement that Meng Hongwei was under an investigation in China on suspicion of breaking the law.
"Deputy Public Security Minister Meng Hongwei is suspected of breaking the law. The National Supervisory Commission is currently investigating him," the statement reads.
Earlier this week, French media reported that the Interpol president has been missing since he traveled to China in late September. Meng's wife, who resides in France's Lyon, the same city where Interpol is headquartered, went to the police to signal his disappearance on September 29, however, the official's family has not heard from him since September 25.
Meng assumed office in November 2016. He has held various positions within China's Ministry of Public Security in his decades-long career.
