Parasite star Lee Sun-kyun found dead in car aged 48 amid police drugs investigation
27 December 2023, 07:53
Parasite star Lee Sun-kyun has been found dead in a car in Seoul aged 48 in a suspected suicide amid a drugs probe.
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The South Korean actor, who was best known for his role in the Oscar winning film, had been investigated for alleged drug use since October.
Police say his wife, former Miss Korea contestant Jeon Hye-jin, found a note at his home and Lee was discovered in a car park.
Charcoal briquettes were found inside the car near Waryong Park.
He was under investigation for alleged marijuana use and for snorting a powder that an accuser, a bar hostess known only as "A", claimed was ketamine.
The three appearances he made at a police station made headlines. He had been spoken to as recently as December 23, with his lawyer later asking for questioning to be carried out in private.
His reputation had taken a severe hit in a country where celebrities are expected to maintain an extremely clean image.
Lee had said he had been duped into taking drugs, passed toxicology tests and insisted on a lie detector test, insisting the hostess was trying to blackmail him.
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"I would like to sincerely apologise once again for causing so many people concerns," he said in October.
"I will answer all questions truthfully.
"A' tricked me into doing drugs. I did not know that what she handed me were illegal drugs."
Lee filed a complaint against A, who he says he met four times, after claiming she had tried to get him to pay 350m won (£212,000).
He claimed he believed he had snorted a crushed sleeping bill, but the hostess said that was ketamine.
HODU&U Entertainment, Lee's agency, said: "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."
Parasite took four Oscars in 2020, including best picture. It was the first non-English film to win the accolade.
Lee played Park Dong-ik, the father of a wealthy family at the centre of the story.
