SEOUL – South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun of the Oscar-winning “Parasite” was found dead in an apparent suicide today while facing an investigation over suspected drug use, Yonhap news agency reported.
A man in his 40s was found unconscious in a car at a park in central Seoul at 10.30am and police later identified him as Lee. In the passenger seat was a charcoal briquette.
The police earlier received a report that Lee left home after writing a memo akin to a suicide note.
Lee has gone through three rounds of police questioning on suspicions of using marijuana and other illegal drugs at the home of a hostess working at a high-end bar in Seoul’s Gangnam district on multiple occasions since early this year, including last Saturday.
The actor claimed he was tricked by the hostess into taking the drugs and that he did not know what he was taking.
Lee tested negative in both the brief reagent test conducted during police investigations and the lab-based drug test by the National Forensic Service last month.
Lee rose to global fame after “Parasite”, in which he played a main role, won the Academy Awards in 2020. – December 27, 2023