Lee Sun-kyun was a renowned actor best known for his role in the 2020 Oscar-winning film "Parasite."
He was found dead on Dec. 27, 2023, in his car parked in Jongno District in Central Seoul, according to the police the same day. He was 48 years old.
Lee has been going through police questioning on suspicions of drug use.
Coverage of the death of Lee Sun-kyun can be found on Celeb Confirmed and the Korea JoongAng Daily.
Lee Sun-kyun was a household name within the Korean film industry, with hit dramas and films such as "Coffee Prince" (2007), "Pasta" (2010), "Golden Time" (2012) and "My Mister" (2018). After making an international breakthrough by appearing in the Oscar-winning "Parasite," Lee has been continuously active in the film scene.
How did Lee start his career?
Lee debuted in 2001 through the MBC sitcom "Lovers," in which he played the younger brother of the character of Lee Yoon-seong. In his first role, Lee played an immature young man who steals his sister's money and spends it without thought. He then appeared in many episodes of Drama City, an anthology television series, including "Dr. Love," "Semi-transparent" and "Love of a Spider Woman." In all these shows, Lee played sloppy loser-type characters, far from the image he now has as a serious and gentlemanlike actor.
Lee's first breakthrough came in 2007 when he was cast in the critically acclaimed medical drama "White Tower" and the highly popular romantic comedy series "Coffee Prince." In "White Tower," Lee played Choi Do-young, an idealistic doctor who cares sincerely for his patients, whereas in "Coffee Prince," he played a music director named Choi Han-sung and the cousin of the main character played by Gong Yoo.
Lee has also worked on a number of low-budget arthouse films, including those directed by Hong Sang-soo. "Night and Day" (2008), "Oki's Movie" (2010), "Nobody's Daughter Haewon" (2013) and "Our Sunhi" (2013) are all films directed by Hong in which Lee appeared. Lee also saw mainstream success with the mystery thriller "Helpless" (2012) and "All About My Wife" (2012).
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