Numerous sources state that Lee Sun-kyun, an actor who starred in the Academy Award–winning movie Parasite, has passed away. 48 was his age.
The Associated Press reports that Lee was discovered dead inside a car at a park in Seoul on Wednesday. According to the news agency, Lee left what looked to be a suicide note, and his relatives claimed that Lee had left police searching for him.
Lee was discovered dead at the scene with a charcoal briquette in his passenger seat, according to the Yonhap news agency. The Washington Post reports that an inquiry into illegal drug use is ongoing at the time of his death.
According to the Yonhap news agency, he had been questioned by police three times on allegations that he had used marijuana and other illegal narcotics in the house of a hostess who works at a club in the Gangnam neighborhood. The Washington Post reported that Lee’s attorney refuted the accusations.
According to Reuters, Lee’s most recent police interrogation lasted 19 hours and was conducted over the weekend. The actor claimed that he had been duped into taking the narcotics by the hostess who tried to blackmail him.
He also had a quick reagent test and a lab-based drug test conducted by the National Forensic Service last month, both of which produced negative results, according to the Yonhap news agency.
The film “Parasite,” starring Lee as the leader of the affluent Park family, won the 92nd Annual Academy Awards’ Best Picture Oscar. As the first non-English picture to win Best Picture, the South Korean production created history.
Additionally, it became the first movie to win Best Picture and Best International Feature Film Oscars.
In October, HollywoodChicago.com published an interview with Lee discussing his experience working on the film. “Because the film received the Palme d’OR at Cannes, we were hoping that the film would received some recognition at the Oscars, because it was the first Korean film that even had a chance,” Lee said.
“After learning about all the nominations, I believed director Boon Joon-ho would win, but I never imagined we would be in the running for Best Picture. We therefore believed the day was over when our director prevailed. You have no idea how shocked and happy we were to hear that the movie was nominated for Best Picture. I’ll always remember it,” he continued.
As per Reuters, he portrayed prominent roles in movies like Helpless and All About My Wife and was the lead actor in Dr. Brain, the debut Korean-language original series on Apple TV+.
Please call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741741, or visit 988lifeline.org if you or someone you know is thinking about taking their own life.
