Actor Lee Sun-kyun, who starred in Oscar-winning film Parasite, has died after being found unconscious in a car park amid a drugs probe.
Emergency services discovered the 48-year-old star in Seoul, South Korea, inside a car after his panicked family reported him missing after finding a message similar to a suicide note. South Korean media said he was found slumped in a vehicle next to a charcoal briquette – used for starting fires.
The actor had reportedly been under investigation since October for alleged illegal drug use – although he claimed he was being blackmailed.
Lee shot to worldwide fame after the 2019 comedy thriller Parasite became the first non-English language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2020. The movie won four Oscars, plus a Golden Globe, a BAFTA and a Screen Actors Guild award.
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PA Photo/Curzon Artificial Eye)
Drug offences in South Korea are punishable by up to 14 years in prison for repeat offenders and sellers, and at least six months in jail. The country maintains strict regulations against drugs.
South Korean media said police had questioned Lee three times, including for 19 hours over the weekend. According to Yonhap, the actor said that a bar hostess had deceived him into taking narcotics and that she had subsequently attempted to blackmail him.
The star claimed during police questioning: “I inhaled using a straw through my nose but thought it was a sleeping pill. I had no idea it was a drug.” The investigation also determined that the manager had provided precise dates and locations for five drug-related incidents.
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YONHAP/AFP via Getty Images)
The bar hostess claimed: “I saw Lee Sun-kyun inhale ketamine powder using a straw. I mentioned ketamine to him and he seemed curious, so I got it for him and he used it.”
Lee had asked the Drug Crime Investigation Unit of the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency to administer a polygraph test through his legal representative.
“We are in an incredibly unjust situation, Lee Sun Gyun should undergo a polygraph test to scientifically verify whose statement is accurate,” the actor’s lawyer said.
South Korean actress Arden Cho lamented Lee’s death in a tribute post on X, formerly Twitter. “I am so heartbroken, we’ve lost one of the most talented & kind artists today,” Arden said. “I love Korean entertainment and media but I feel sick.. a beautiful soul was lost, media is terrifying. Lee Sun Kyun, thank you for your art and your life. May you rest in peace. May the world change. Artists give up their lives to bring others joy. Make sacrifices people wouldn’t understand.. but we are human, no one’s perfect.”
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