Actor Lee Sun-kyun, known for his role in Parasite, dies at 48

The world of the 7th art is in mourning. South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun, famous for his role in the 2020 Oscar-winning film Parasite, was found dead in conditions akin to suicide, the South Korean news agency reported on Wednesday. -Korean Yonhap. The 48-year-old actor was found inside a vehicle in the center of the capital Seoul, Yonhap said, citing police.

According to another police source cited by the South Korean agency Yonhap, he left a note “resembling a will”, which supports the hypothesis of suicide. Lee Sun-kyun had been under investigation since October on suspicion of using cannabis and other psychotropic drugs. In this very strict country on the matter, this scandal tarnished his image and immediately deprived him of television appearances and advertising contracts, according to several South Korean media.

On December 23 and 24, police subjected him to a third interrogation lasting 19 hours, according to Yonhap. Before a previous interrogation in a police station in Incheon, near Seoul, at the end of October, the actor spoke to journalists. “I sincerely apologize for disappointing many people by being involved in such an unpleasant incident,” he said. I am sorry for my family who are enduring such great pain at this time (...) Once again, I sincerely apologize to everyone.

This scandal tarnished his image as a successful actor, depriving him of television appearances and advertising contracts, according to several South Korean media. He has appeared in several feature films by director Hong Sang-soo, including Haewon and the Men in 2013.

It was with Parasite, under the direction of Bong Joon-ho, that he achieved international notoriety, in the role of father of a wealthy family, who gets closer at his expense to the poor family they employ . His latest film, Sleep, where he plays the role of a sleepwalking husband who terrorizes his wife, was presented, out of competition, at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, in the “Critics Week” category.

He spoke to journalists at the end of October, before an interrogation at a police station in the city of Incheon, near Seoul. “I sincerely apologize for disappointing many people by being involved in such an unpleasant incident,” he said. “I am sorry for my family who are enduring such difficult pain at this time (...) Once again, I sincerely apologize to everyone,” he added.

South Korean law is very strict when it comes to drug use. President Yoon Suk Yeol this year called for tougher measures to stamp out drug trafficking, in a country where the sale of cannabis is punishable by life in prison. There are even prison sentences for people returning to South Korea after legally consuming cannabis abroad.