"Parasite" actor Lee Sun-kyun found dead after drug affair
Lee leaves behind a wife and two sons. He left a "note that reads like a will", Yonhap reported, citing the police. Desperate fans bid farewell to the actor on online networks. One fan wrote on X, formerly Twitter, "I laughed and cried a lot when I saw your acting. Thank you."
South Korea has very strict anti-drug laws. For example, the consumption of cannabis can be punished with life imprisonment. In recent months, several celebrities from the country's cultural scene, including rapper G-Dragon, have had to answer to the authorities on suspicion of using drugs.
The police had been investigating Lee since October. According to Yonhap, the last interrogation by the officers lasted 19 hours, from December 23 to 24. Lee was accused of using illegal drugs in the apartment of an entertainer from a posh bar. He stated that he had been "tricked" by the woman. He had not known that these were illegal substances.
Before an interrogation at the end of October, the actor spoke briefly to reporters and apologized for having "disappointed many people" through his involvement in this "unpleasant incident". "I'm sorry for my family who are having to endure so much grief at this moment," he added.
Lee is best known to international audiences from the 2019 film"Parasite" by director Bong Joon Ho. The black comedy was the first non-English language film in history to win the top prize for Best Picture at the 2020 Oscars and also won the Oscars for Best International Film, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.
"Parasite", a mixture of social satire and thriller, is about the scion of a poor South Korean family who gets a job as a tutor for the daughter of a rich businessman - played by Lee. With black humor, the film tells how the son gradually places his entire family as employees with his new employer. The movie then heads towards a bloody ending.
Lee's last film, the horror thriller "Sleep" by director Yoo Jae-sun, also received positive reviews in the Critics' Week section of the Cannes Film Festival. In it, he plays a husband whose sleepwalking has creepy consequences.
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Source: www.stern.de
