Lee Sun-kyun, a South Korean film and television actor known for his role in the Oscar-winning film Parasite, has died, according to officials.
South Korea’s emergency office initially reported Lee had been found unconscious before later confirming the star had died.
The actor had been under investigation over illegal drug use allegations.
The 48-year old was found in a car at a park in Seoul on Wednesday morning, according to local reports.
Fire officials said Lee was not taken to a hospital as he was pronounced dead on the scene.
Lee’s wife is award-winning actress Jeon Hye-jin, and the couple had two children.
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. South Korean authorities have said the use of marijuana by Korean citizens, even in countries where it is legal, is considered a crime punishable by the law.
Lee had on Sunday been questioned by police for 19 hours over alleged use of marijuana and other psychoactive drugs. He was previously questioned in October and November regarding the same case.
On Tuesday, sources told Yonhap News, a major South Korean News Agency, that Lee had submitted a request for a polygraph test to the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency in charge of the investigation, claiming his innocence.
Lee tested negative in both the brief reagent test conducted during police investigations and the lab-based drug test by the National Forensic Service last month.
Lee starred as a rich family’s father in the Oscar-winning 2019 film Parasite. The film won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, a first for a foreign-language film, and Best Director for Bong Joon-ho. Lee, along with other castmates, won a Screen Actors Guild award for that role.
He was already well-known on Korean screens for his roles in popular movies and TV drama series including the 2007 series Coffee Prince, 2014’s All About My Wife, 2018’s My Mister and 2019’s Diary of a Prosecutor, among others.
Lee was also nominated for best actor at the International Emmy Awards for his 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, played by Lee, who tries to find clues to a mysterious family accident through brain experiments.
