Oscar recipient Lee Sun-kyun was found dead in his vehicle from an apparent suicide on Dec 27, 2023. This tragedy took place during his alleged drug abuse trials in which Lee desperately pled his case. Lee was in a state of emotional instability from his tainted social image, eventually leading him to commit suicide.
The police announced that they found the remnants of a suicide note that Lee had left in his own house earlier the same day.
“When I first saw Lee in the movies, he seemed anything but suicidal,” Nathan Chung (10), movie enthusiast, said. “Even in his earlier appearances, Lee Sun-Kyun never expressed discontent with his job and living experiences.”
Lee’s drug investigation took place shortly after G-Dragon, a famous South Korean rapper, was also suspected of drug abuse. In Lee’s case, he was believed to have consumed narcotic substances such as marijuana and ketamine during his visit to a bar in Seoul. The hostess who claimed to have served him the substances later pled guilty during an inquiry. She reported to the police that Lee was a frequent squatter at her place, taking drugs, drinking alcohol, and engaging in other harmful activities.
Lee responded to the harsh public criticism by requesting a lie detector test, an unorthodox and slightly lesser-proven investigative method. Although his initial drug tests returned positive results, they were still inconclusive. Lee remained subject to investigation and media censure.
“It is deplorable that Lee Sun-kyun died amidst his trial,” Alex Jeong (10), an avid movie critic, said. “If all he said was true and the accusations were faulty, then Lee would have had no trouble with getting out of the limelight.”
Promptly after Lee’s death, many of his colleagues spoke out against how the situation was handled. Bong Joon-ho, the director of Parasite, called for further investigations into Lee Sun-kyun’s death, asserting that there is still more to the case that the authorities are cognizant of. Others took to the streets, mourning the death of a cherished actor.
