South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun, renowned for his stellar performance in the Academy Award-winning masterpiece “Parasite,” was discovered lifeless on Wednesday in what appeared to be suicide, according to Yonhap news agency.
Yonhap reported that the actor was found inside a vehicle at a park in central Seoul, according to the police.
At 48 years old, Lee had become the subject of a police investigation regarding his purported use of marijuana and other psychoactive substances.
Local news outlets disclosed that the actor, previously celebrated for his wholesome image, was now being excluded from television and commercial projects due to the scandal.
A graduate of South Korea’s prestigious Korea National University of Arts, Lee made his acting debut in 2001 in a television sitcom titled “Lovers”.
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Following that, he garnered acclaim for his diverse roles, embodying characters like a charismatic chef and a dedicated architectural engineer confronting his wife’s betrayal.
Internationally, he is most recognized for his depiction of the affluent and superficial patriarch in director Bong Joon-ho’s 2019 Academy Award-winning film “Parasite.”
In his last cinematic endeavor, the horror film “Sleep,” released this year, gained critical acclaim and earned a spot in the Critics’ Week section at the Cannes festival. His role as a husband whose sleepwalking leads to chilling circumstances was widely praised.
Speaking briefly to reporters in late October, he then entered an Incheon police station for a meeting with investigators.
‘I sincerely apologise for causing great disappointment to many people by being involved in such an unpleasant incident,” he said at the time.’
‘I feel sorry for my family, which is enduring such difficult pain at this moment.’
‘Once again, I sincerely apologise to everyone.’
South Korea maintains stringent laws against illegal drugs, to the extent that even Koreans legally consuming substances like marijuana abroad face potential prosecution upon their return to the homeland.
President Yoon Suk Yeol, in the current year, has called for heightened measures to eradicate drug traffickers, stating that the country is no longer adhering to a “drug-free” status.
He leaves behind his wife, actress Jeon Hye-jin, and their two sons.