South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun, best known for his role in Oscar-winning film Parasite, has died aged 48.
The actor was found unconscious in a car in one of Seoul’s main parks on Wednesday.
It is unclear if Lee took his own life, but police confirmed they received a report that he had left home after writing a note, as reported by the BBC.
He had been under investigation for alleged drug use since October.
News outlet Yonhap reported that the actor had been suspected of taking drugs such as marijuana and ketamine with a hostess at a bar in Seoul.
However had had claimed that while he took what she gave him, he had not known that they were illicit drugs.
The hostess reportedly told the police that he used drugs at her home multiple times – something he denied.
His drug tests had returned negative or inconclusive results, the report added.
The actor briefly spoke to reporters in late October before entering an Incheon police station to meet with investigators.
‘I sincerely apologise for causing great disappointment to many people by being involved in such an unpleasant incident,’ he said at the time.
‘I feel sorry for my family, which is enduring such difficult pain at this moment.’
Police said they regretted Lee had died in the midst of investigations, but that the investigation had been ‘conducted with [his] consent’, News1 Korea reported.
Lee’s agency, HODU&U Entertainment, said in a statement: ‘There is no way to contain the sorrow and despair. We respectfully ask that you refrain from spreading false facts based on speculation… so that [Lee’s] final journey will not be unfair.’
The actor was married to actress Jeon Hye-jin and the couple shared two young sons.
A graduate of South Korea’s prestigious Korea National University of Arts, Lee made his acting debut in 2001 in a television sitcom called Lovers.
He starred as the lead in many films and TV shows, becoming a household name in the past decade.
He rose to international fame as Park Dong-ik in Parasite, the father in the wealthy Park family which becomes infiltrated by members of a poor family posing as unrelated individuals.
The film swept four awards at the Oscars in 2020, including Best Picture, becoming the first non-English language film to win the prize.
In 2021, he went on to star in Apple TV Plus’ first Korean-language original series, Dr. Brain.
For his performance he was nominated for a Best Actor award at the International Emmy Awards.
The actor had a squeaky-clean, family-man image prior to his alleged drug use, but reports that emerged from the investigation caused considerable damage to his reputation.
He then dropped out of the project No Way Out, a mystery TV series that began shooting two months ago.
Drug offences, including those involving usage of marijuana, are considered serious crimes in South Korea.
Consumption of marijuana carries prison sentences of up to five years.
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