Lee Sun-kyun, one of the main actors in the Oscar hit “Parasite”, is dead. Lee was found lifeless in the South Korean capital Seoul on Wednesday, December 27th. He reportedly committed suicide and left a suicide note. His wife had previously filed a missing person report with the police. This is reported by the South Korean news agency Yonhap, citing local authorities.
Lee was considered a very successful actor in his home country. He is best known to Western audiences for his acclaimed performance in Parasite, for which he received a Screen Actors Guild Award along with the film’s other actors.
The black comedy also won the Best Film category at the 2020 Oscars, becoming the first non-English-language film in the award’s history. It was awarded “Best International Film”, “Best Director” and “Best Original Screenplay”.
“Parasite”, a wild mix of thriller and social satire, also thrilled arthouse cinema audiences in German-speaking countries: the son of a poor family becomes a tutor to the daughter of a very rich entrepreneur – played by Lee Sun-kyun. Sarcastically and full of black humor, it tells how the son infiltrates his entire family as employees of his new employer. The bloody ending of the film provides a drastic counterpoint to the humorous progression.
Main role in “Dr. “Brain”
Lee Sun-kuyn has previously appeared in a number of South Korean films and television series. He played the main role in “Dr. Brain,” Apple TV+’s first Korean-language original series. Before “Parasite,” he was a sought-after character on Korean screens for decades. He became known in 2007 for his role in the popular drama series “Coffee Prince”. He achieved mainstream popularity with the medical drama “Behind The White Tower”, and “Pasta” (2010) and “My Mister” from 2018 were also extremely popular.
In October 2022, Lee was charged on suspicion of using marijuana and psychoactive drugs. South Korea has extremely strict drug laws; If convicted, you could face a prison sentence of several years. According to media reports, Lee was banned from television and advertising projects because of this.
In the days before his death, Lee was reportedly questioned by South Korean police for another 19 hours over his alleged drug use. He was finally found in a car near a park in Seoul on Wednesday morning.