Actor Lee Sun-kyun, best known for his role in the award-winning film “Parasite,” was found dead after an apparent suicide.
According to the Associated Press, Sun-kyun was found dead in a parked car on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. in Seoul, South Korea. Upon their discovery, emergency officers along with police found him in what they thought was an “unconscious state.”
The Yonhap news agency reported that a charcoal briquette was found in the passenger seat.
Subsequently, emergency officials later confirmed Sun-kyun was dead, per Seoul’s Seongbuk police station.
“As he was pronounced dead, he wasn’t taken to hospital,” a fire official said.
Police had been searching for him after they received a report that same day that he was he left his home after writing a message that resembled a suicide note and his car was gone.
Sun-kyun was 48.
In late October, the actor was under investigation and was questioned by police three times for suspicions of illegal drug use at the home of a bar hostess on numerous occasions.
However, Sun-kyun claimed he was tricked into taking the drugs and was unaware of what he was consuming. He then filed a lawsuit against two people including the hostess, accusing them of blackmailing him.
In a public statement addressing the allegations, Sun-kyun apologized to his family and fans amid his first summoning by police.
“I feel sorry to my family members who are enduring too difficult pains at this moment. I again sincerely apologize to everyone,” he said, via the Associated Press.
In November, the Screen Actors Guild award winner tested negative after taking the brief reagent test and the lab-based drug tested by National Forensic Service which was done during police investigations, the Yonhap news agency reported.
The day before, Sun-kyun requested to take a polygraph test to the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency charged with the investigation. He maintained his innocence.
Kang Youn-gon, a media communication professor at Seoul’s Chung-Ang University, came to his defense against the allegations.
“Lee faced some allegations but they haven’t been formally verified. But the media has been assertively reporting about Lee’s private life … and I think that’s something wrong,” Youn-gon stated, via the Associated Press.