‘Parasite’ Actor Lee Sun-Kyun Discovered Dead; Suicide Suspected

Lee Sun-Kyun, best known for his part in the Oscar-winning film ‘Parasite’, was discovered dead Wednesday in an apparent suicide.

According to authorities, the actor was discovered inside a vehicle in a park in central Seoul.

Lee, 48, was being investigated by police for possible marijuana and other psychotropic drug use.

Following the controversy, local news agencies stated that the actor was being dropped from broadcast and commercial productions.

Lee, a graduate of South Korea’s famous Korea National University of Arts, had his acting debut in a television sitcom titled ‘Lovers’ in 2001.

Lee Sun-Kyun eventually received accolades for his performances in a range of characters, including a dynamic chef and a devoted architectural engineer who discovers his wife is cheating on him.

Globally, he is best recognized for his depiction as the affluent and shallow patriarch in filmmaker Bong Joon-ho’s Oscar-winning film ‘Parasite’ in 2019.

Lee Sun-Kyun’s most recent film, this year’s horror film ‘Sleep’, in which he played a spouse whose sleepwalking eventually leads to horrible events, was well-received generally and was featured in the Cannes Critics’ Week section.

In late October, he talked briefly to reporters before entering an Incheon police station to meet with investigators.

At the time, the actor said, “I sincerely apologize for causing great disappointment to many people by being involved in such an unpleasant incident”.

“I feel sorry for my family, which is enduring such difficult pain at this moment”, Mr. Lee continued.

“Once again, I sincerely apologize to everyone”, the actor added.

South Korea has exceptionally strict drug laws, and even Koreans who use marijuana legally abroad face imprisonment when they return home.

This year, President Yoon Suk Yeol advocated for tougher anti-drug-trafficking measures, claiming that the country was no longer drug-free.

He is survived by his wife, actress Jeon Hye-jin, and two kids.

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