Born in 1975, actor Lee Sun-kyun was a preferred identify within the Korean cinema. After graduating from Korea National University of Arts, he began his performing journey in 2001 with the tv sitcom Lovers. He gained worldwide acclaim after he essayed the position of Park Dong-ik, the pinnacle of the rich Park household within the 2019 Oscar-winning movie Parasite. The whole solid of the film, together with Lee, received the Screen Actors Guild award for excellent efficiency by a solid in a movement image.

Besides Parasite, Lee Sun-kyun had a number of common South Korean initiatives to his credit score together with Payback, Diary of a Prosecutor, My Mister, Killing Romance, and Kingmaker, amongst others. After Parasite, the actor gained prominence for his work in Apple TV Plus’ first South Korean sequence Dr. Brain. The present even received him a nomination within the Best Actor class on the 2022 International Emmy Awards.

His final movie was the horror drama, Sleep, the place he essayed the position of a sleepwalking husband. The movie received essential acclaim and was featured on the Cannes Film Festival this 12 months. The actor is survived by his actor-wife Jeon Hye-jin and two sons.

As per the South Korean information company, Yonhap, the 48-year-old actor was discovered lifeless in a automobile parked at a Seoul park on Wednesday. It mentioned a charcoal briquette was found within the automobile’s passenger seat. The police had been looking for him after his spouse made a misery name to them that the actor had left dwelling and he or she had discovered a message from him which, as per her, learn like a suicide notice.

Members of the Korea Crime Scene Investigation group examine the scene the place South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun was discovered unconscious in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023. (Seo Dae-youn/Yonhap by way of AP)

The Parasite actor Lee Sun-kyun was beneath police investigation for the alleged use of an unlawful drug on the home of a hostess of a high-end bar in Seoul. He was being investigated by South Korea’s Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency. Reuters reported that he was questioned thrice by the police officers, with one session operating 19 hours over this weekend.

However, Lee claimed he was blackmailed by one of many different accused individuals in the identical case and reported that he had misplaced a number of lots of of hundreds of {dollars} to the alleged extortionist. Also, he mentioned he was unaware that the substance he was consuming was a bootleg drug.

According to Korean information outlet Yonhap, Lee examined unfavorable in two drug exams, one was a fast reagent take a look at by the police and one other a lab-based take a look at by the National Forensic Service. However, the hostess who accused Lee maintained her claims. So, Lee requested the police to conduct a polygraph take a look at to seek out out who’s mendacity.

Lee’s lawyer advised Yonhap, “The National Forensic Service’s drug test should have been positive if she was telling the truth, but it was negative. Lee is in a very unjust situation, so a lie detector test should be done on both of them to scientifically confirm who is lying and who is not.”

South Korea has strict legal guidelines in opposition to the consumption of illicit medicine and drug crimes. They can result in six months of imprisonment which might go as much as 14 years for repeat offenders and sellers.

The Guardian reported that Lee briefly spoke to reporters in late October earlier than investigation on the Incheon police station. He mentioned, “I sincerely apologise for causing great disappointment to many people by being involved in such an unpleasant incident. I feel sorry for my family, which is enduring such difficult pain at this moment.”

After the actor’s demise, his company, HODU&U Entertainment, mentioned in a press release, “There is no way to contain the sorrow and despair. We respectfully ask that you refrain from spreading false facts based on speculation… so that [Lee’s] final journey will not be unfair.”

BBC quoted a News1 Korea report which talked about that police regretted that Lee had died within the midst of investigations. But the police additionally clarified that the investigation was “conducted with [his] consent”.