(UnitedHeadlines.com) – On Dec. 27, South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun, 48, was found dead inside a car in a Seoul park after an apparent suicide, according to authorities. The actor, who was in the film “Parasite,” was found unconscious near a charcoal briquette that when burned in an enclosed space, can result in carbon monoxide poisoning.
His body was discovered after his wife reported him missing earlier in the day. According to his manager, the actor had left his home, leaving behind what appeared to be a suicide note.
Lee’s suicide comes amid a police investigation that began in October into his alleged illegal drug use in South Korea, which has some of the strictest drug laws in the world. As part of their investigation, police questioned him on three different occasions, including questioning him for 19 hours the weekend of Dec. 23.
During his first interrogation on Oct. 28, Lee apologized for “causing immense disappointment.” According to the Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency, the actor claimed a hostess at a high-end bar in Seoul tricked him into taking drugs, and then attempted to blackmail him. He filed a lawsuit against the alleged blackmailer. During the course of the investigation, he passed two drug tests and attempted to prove his innocence by submitting to a polygraph test on Dec. 26.
Lee worked alongside filmmaker Hong Sang-soo in the 2008 film “Night and Day,” the 2010 film “Oki’s Movie” and the 2013 film “Nobody’s Daughter Haewon.” He starred in the South Korean film “Helpless” in 2012 and the South Korean film “All About My Wife” in 2014. He starred in South Korean TV shows such as “Pasta” “Coffee Prince” and “Behind the White Tower.” He went on to star in the Oscar-winning film, “Parasite” in 2019. In 2021, he starred in “Dr. Brain,” Apple TV+’s first Korean-language original series.
He is survived by his wife, actress Jeon Hye-jin, and two sons.
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