An actor who gained international fame after appearing in the Oscar-winning film Parasite has been found dead of an apparent suicide, reports the BBC.
Police found Lee Sun-Kyun dead in his car after receiving a call from Lee’s manager that he had discovered what could be a suicide note, according to NBC.
The 48 year old played the father of the wealthy family in Parasite for which he won acclaim and awards.
He had undergone police questioning three times in recent months as part of an investigation into illegal drug use, Reuters reported. One session went on for 19 hours.
The Korean News agency Yonghap reported that his drug test had come back negative or were inconclusive. Lee had denied the accusations, saying he did not know that what a hostess had given him in a bar were illicit drugs. Lee had requested that police give him a lie detector test.
“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,” Lee’s agency, HODU&U Entertainment, said in a statement released to the BBC.
In 2020, Parasite became the first South Korean film to win an Oscar for Best Picture. It also won in three other categories. In 2021, Lee won a Screen Actors Guild Award for “cast in a motion picture” for the same picture. CBS reports that last year he won an International Emmy for the sci-fi thriller Dr. Brain.
Lee attended Korea National University of the Arts in 1994, graduating in its first ever class from the School of Drama. He began in many small acting roles but made his breakthrough in the critically acclaimed medical drama White Tower and the romantic series Coffee Prince, a biography in Wikipedia states.
He also spent many years playing in arthouse films and won a best acting award at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival held in Spain for Paju.
From there he played many romantic leading roles starting with Pasta in which he played a chef. More acclaim followed with his roles in Helpless and All About My Wife.
He married his girlfriend of seven years, actress Jeon Hye-jin, on May 23, 2009. The couple had two sons both born in 2009 and 2011.
There is much help available for anyone considering suicide. You can dial the suicide and crisis hotline at 988.
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