News of his sudden demise comes at a time when the actor was under investigation for alleged drug use. News agency Yonhap states that Jeon Hye Jin, the actress wife of Lee Sun-kyun, made a distressing call to the police on December 27, reporting her husband’s disappearance.
The report claims that she called the authorities at 10.12 am raising her concerns that her husband had left behind a letter. Subsequently, police discovered Lee Sun-kyun slumped over in his vehicle at 10:30 AM.
The late actor had faced three rounds of police questioning related to suspicions of marijuana and other illegal drug use. Allegedly, these activities occurred at the residence of a hostess working at a high-end bar in Seoul’s Gangnam district.
Reports stated that Lee maintained during the police inquiry, that he was ‘misled’ by the hostess and was unaware of the substances he was consuming.
Despite testing negative in both a brief reagent test during police investigations and a lab-based drug test conducted by the National Forensic Service last month, the actor remained entangled in the drug use controversy. He had even submitted a polygraph test to assert his innocence in the ongoing investigation.
In October, Yonhap reported that Lee filed a complaint against two people, including the hostess, for allegedly ‘blackmailing’ him about his alleged drug use.
While the hostess was arrested in November, the police sought an arrest warrant for the other person.
Over the weekend, Lee Sun-kyun was grilled by police for over 19 hours regarding the alleged drug use. Addressing the media on the same, he told the portal, “I feel like it is a bit too late, but I’ve finished the questioning by the police about the blackmail case. I hope the police wisely determine which statements are more reliable between mine and the blackmailers.”
Lee Sun Kyun, who had been married to Jeon Hye Jin since 2009, is survived by his wife and two children. The couple, who celebrated 14 years of marriage, had been a well-regarded and enduring presence in the South Korean entertainment industry.
Oscars 2020: South Korean film ‘Parasite’ wins Best Picture Academy Award
