The South Korean actor starred in Bong Joon-ho’s 2019 Oscar-winning film.
South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun, who is best-known for starring in Bong Joon-ho’s 2019 film Parasite, has been found dead at the age of 48.
Lee was reportedly found unconscious in a car in a Seoul park on Wednesday (27th December 2023), after his wife reported to police that he had left home and that she had found what appeared to be a suicide note, officials have said.
Lee had been under investigation for alleged use of marijuana and other psychoactive drugs since October. He had claimed to have been tricked into taking them by a bar hostess who then tried to blackmail him.
He claimed he hadn’t known they were illicit drugs, Yonhap news agency reported.
Drug offences are considered serious crimes in South Korea, with the consumption of marijuana carrying a prison sentence of up to five years.
Lee’s agency, HODU&U Entertainment, said in a statement to domestic media: “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 had started his acting career after graduating from the School of Drama at the Korea National University of Arts. He had gone on to star in theatre, film and television, making his debut in 2001 sitcom Lovers.
He subsequently starred in films including Our Town, Night and Day, Romantic Island and A Hard Day, before his starring turn in Parasite brought him to even greater international recognition.
He played Park Dong-ik, the father of the wealthy Park family whose household the Kim family schemed to infiltrate. The film became the first non-English-language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
In 2021 he starred in Dr Brain, a sci-fi thriller and the first Korean-language show to be produced for Apple TV+.
Fans paid tribute to Lee on Twitter, which has recently been re-branded as X, following news of his death, with one saying: “I’m so sad to wake up to the news of Lee Sun-kyun’s passing.
“Apart from playing a major part in the biggest South Korean film of all time he also gifted us some incredible performances as anti-heroes in A HARD DAY and JO PIL-HO: THE DAWNING RAGE. He will be missed”.
Another said: “Lee Sun-Kyun was a great actor. First introduced to him via R-Point as a kid, then he exploded with Parasite. At this last Fantastic Fest with Sleep and Project Silence he really cemented himself as a compelling leading man. Thoughts are with his family during this tragic time.”