Lee was discovered unconscious Wednesday morning, in response to a police spokesman, and was pronounced useless on the scene. Native media reported that he was present in his automotive, close to a park in Seoul, and had apparently died by suicide.
Lee’s company, HODU&U Leisure, later confirmed his demise on Wednesday. “There isn’t any solution to comprise the grief and despair,” it stated in an announcement. Lee’s household and colleagues will attend his funeral, the company stated.
The actor had been questioned on suspicion of utilizing marijuana and different unlawful medicine on the residence of a girl who labored at an unique bar in Seoul’s Gangnam district, Yonhap Information Company reported. Lee stated the girl had tricked him into taking the medicine.
He was questioned by police thrice and underwent a 19-hour interrogation a number of days in the past. Lee’s drug assessments got here again unfavourable or inconclusive, in response to police.
The police investigation attracted widespread media consideration in South Korea, tarnishing the actor’s public picture.
Lee starred in quite a few South Korean movies and tv sequence since his debut in 1999, and he achieved world popularity of his function in “Parasite.”
“Parasite” gained quite a few awards following its 2019 launch, together with the Palme d’Or on the Cannes Movie Pageant and 4 Oscars on the Academy Awards the next 12 months, amongst them one for greatest image.
Lee took the lead function in Apple TV Plus’s first Korean-language unique manufacturing, the sci-fi thriller ‘Dr. Mind,’ launched in 2021. For his function within the sequence, Lee was nominated for the perfect actor on the Worldwide Emmy Awards final 12 months.
South Korea’s leisure business has been rocked by a spate of drug abuse scandals, with Ok-pop singers and film stars dealing with police scrutiny.
South Korea’s drug coverage is among the strictest on this planet. Residents could be prosecuted for utilizing unlawful medicine, even when they did so exterior the nation. Drug offenders could be punished by a jail time period between six months and 14 years.
South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol declared a “struggle on medicine” earlier this 12 months, calling for government-wide measures. Native authorities stepped up anti-drug campaigns and led a tightened crackdown on the smuggling of unlawful substances.
Over 17,000 drug offenders had been arrested within the first eleven months of 2023, a leap from 12,387 arrests within the earlier 12 months.
- Should you or somebody you understand wants assist, go to 988lifeline.org or name or textual content the Suicide & Disaster Lifeline at 988.
