As South Korean police on Thursday defended their aggressive investigation of “Parasite” star Lee Sun-kyun for alleged drug use, the country’s entertainment industry was reeling from his death, in part because he is the latest popular performer to die under tragic circumstances in recent years.
Prior to Lee’s death Wednesday, 11 other prominent South Korean actors, musicians and other performers — most in their 20s and 30s — have died in suspected suicides, accidents and other incidents, one of which was a homicide and others that have been labeled “mysterious,” according to a list compiled by the Daily Mail.
It’s believed that the 48-year-old Lee died by suicide, as the film and TV actor reportedly despaired over the highly publicized nature of the police investigation, which had forced him to drop out of a major film project in October and was causing serious damage to his reputation.
The handsome and charismatic Lee, who shot to international fame when he co-starred in Bong Joon-ho’s Academy Award-winning hit film “Parasite” in 2019, had undergone three rounds of police questioning since October. He was accused of using marijuana, ketamine and other drugs multiple times in the company of a woman who worked at one of the high-end bars in in Seoul’s Gangnam District. South Korea, like many Asian countries, has strict laws against drug use, with people who’ve been caught using drugs, including marijuana, facing potential prison sentences.
Lee insisted he had not knowingly taken illegal drugs and accused the bar hostess of trying to blackmail him, reports said. He was found dead in his car, parked in central Seoul, on Wednesday morning, four days after he underwent 19 hours of questioning by police. His meeting with officers was covered by the media, with cameras capturing his arrival at the police station. Lee’s attorney had asked police to close his latest round of questioning to the media, but they declined.
Lee’s death already has brought focus to the apparently harsh nature of the police investigation, Reuters said, and it could bring further scrutiny to the government’s current crackdown on illegal drug use, as well as the country’s reported crisis over mental health among its more than 50 million residents. In this outwardly successful society, more than 35 people on average take their own lives every day, and suicide is the leading cause of death among those aged 10 to 39, the BBC reported.
Lee’s death also represents another blow to members of South Korea’s entertainment industry, who have sadly faced losing members of their community when they are still young or in the prime of their careers. Alarms also have been raised over the pressures on young entertainers in particular, with the New York Times reporting that management companies groom them at young ages to be teen pop idols. Consequently, their looks are closely scrutinized, and their tightly choreographed lives often are broadcast on social media platforms, exposing them to both fan adulation and hateful comments.
Before Lee’s death, four other South Korean celebrities died in 2023. In April, the country was rocked by the unexplained death of 26-year-old actor Jung Chae-yul, who had become famous playing an investigative journalist in the TV series “Zombie Detective.” Jung was found dead in her home, her management company announced, but her company did not identify the cause of her death.
About a week later, Moonbin, the 25-year-old member of the boy band Astro, was found dead in his home of a suspected suicide, sparking further discussion about suicide and mental health issues in South Korea, the Daily Mail said. He had gone on hiatus in 2019, due to unspecified health reasons, but returned to the band in 2020.
Two more deaths occurred in June. First, social media influencer BJ Ahyeong, 33, was found dead in a ditch in Cambodia, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, on June 6, reports said. Police said her neck appeared to have been broken, and the influencer, who had more than 250,000 Instagram followers, had been wrapped in a red rug.
Cambodian police subsequently arrested and charged a Chinese couple, who ran a medical clinic that BJ had visited in Cambodia, the CBS News reported. The couple denied killing her, telling authorities that she had suffered seizures and died while she was receiving treatment at their clinic. Still, they dumped her body in the ditch, and they were charged with “murder accompanied by torture.”
Four days after the discovery of BJ’s body, 29-year-old K-drama actor Park Soo Ryun fell down a flight of stairs and suffered a traumatic injury that left her brain-dead, the Daily Mail and New York Post reported. Park had starred in the popular Disney+ K-drama “Snowdrop.”
Going back to 2019, suicide was suspected in the deaths of two K-pop stars and close friends. Sulli, a former child actress and member of the innovative girl group f(x), was found dead in her home in October 2019, the Daily Mail reported at the time. She was 25 and was known for speaking out on mental health issues, cyberbullying and women’s rights — issues that remain sensitive in a conservative society like South Korea, the BBC reported. While Sulli insisted that women should be free to dress as they pleased, she was often the target of online abuse for not wearing a bra in public.
A month later, her friend, Goo Hara, also died by suicide in her home, the Daily Mail said. Goo, 28, formerly of the girl band Kara, had reportedly attempted suicide six months earlier.
Other Korean stars who have died in recent years include K-Pop singer Tany, who was killed in a fatal car crash in April 2018 at age 22; comedian Park Ji-sun, 35, who was found dead in her home in November 2020, alongside her mother, in a suspected double suicide; and TV star Song Yoo-jung, 26, who was found dead in her home in January 2021 under mysterious circumstances.
Another “mystery death” involved another Disney+ “Snowdrop” star, Kim Mi-soo, who died suddenly at age 29 in January 2022, while 24-year-old actor and K-pop singer Lee Ji Han was one of more than 150 people who died in a crush of more than 100,000 people who had been celebrating Halloween in Seoul in October 2022.
If you or someone you know is struggling with feelings of depression or suicidal thoughts, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline offers free, round-the-clock support, information and resources for help. Call or text the lifeline at 988, or see the 988lifeline.org website, where chat is available.