Parasite actor Lee Sun-Kyun, 48, facing drug charges, found dead in car; suicide suspected

South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun, known for movies like Parasite and A Hard Day, died at the age of 48. The actor was reportedly discovered dead in a car in Seoul, South Korea's Jongno District earlier today (December 27), according to a Yonhap News Agency that cited the police. Press agencies in South Korea claim that the local police have a suicide suspicion. His death was announced just one day after he was investigated in a drug misuse investigation.

Lee Sun Kyun died by suicide? 

Lee was found unconscious next to charcoal briquettes inside a car at a park in Seoul on Wednesday morning, after his wife reported to police that Lee had left home and she had found what appeared to be a suicide note, Yonhap said.

The actor had been questioned three times by police, including for 19 hours over the weekend. He had said he was tricked into taking drugs by a bar hostess who then tried to blackmail him. South Korea has tough drug laws, and drug crimes are typically punishable by at least six months in prison or up to 14 years for repeat offenders and dealers.

What do we know about Lee Sun Kyun? 

Born in 1975, Lee starred as a rich family's father in Parasite, and also played leading roles in South Korean movies including the 2012 thriller Helpless and 2014's All About My Wife. 

Lee had the lead role in Apple TV+'s first Korean-language original series, which rolled out in 2021. Dr Brain, a six-episode sci-fi thriller, was about a cold-hearted neurologist, Koh Se-won, who tries to find clues to a mysterious family accident through brain experiments.

(with inputs from Agencies)