South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun of Oscar-winning film 'Parasite' is found dead
Seoul (South Korea) (AP): Lee Sun-kyun, a popular South Korean actor best known for his role in the Oscar-winning movie "Parasite," was found dead in a car in Seoul on Wednesday, authorities said, after weeks of an intense police investigation into his alleged drug use.
Police and emergency officers initially found Lee in what they believed was an unconscious state in the car parked on a street in northern Seoul. Emergency officers later confirmed he was dead, according to Seoul's Seongbuk police station.
Police had been searching for Lee, 48, after receiving a report that he was missing, Seongbuk police said.
They refused to provide further details including whether they had determined Lee killed himself. But South Korean media outlets including Yonhap news agency said that Lee's family earlier Wednesday reported to police that he left home after writing a message similar to a suicide note.
Lee's body was later transported to a nearby Seoul hospital, according to Seongbuk police.
Lee appeared in "Parasite," which won Oscars for best picture and three other categories in 2020. The class satire was the first non-English-language film to win best picture in the then-92-year history of the Academy Awards, and was the first South Korean movie ever to win an Oscar. In the film, Lee played the head of a wealthy family.
In 2021, he won a Screen Actors Guild award for "cast in a motion picture" for his role in the same film. He was nominated for best actor at the International Emmy Awards for his performance in the sci-fi thriller "Dr Brain" last year, as well.
Even before "Parasite," Lee had been a popular actor in South Korea for a long time. He rose to stardom for his role in a hit TV drama series, "Coffee Prince (2007)," and gained mainstream popularity with the medical drama "Behind The White Tower (2007)," "Pasta (2010)" and "My Mister (2018)."
Lee had undergone police probes into allegations that he used illegal drugs at the residence of a bar hostess. The investigation prompted extensive tabloid coverage. Lee insisted he was tricked into taking the drugs and that he did not know what he was taking, according to Yonhap.
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Govt cuts windfall tax on crude petroleum
New Delhi (PTI): The government has cut windfall tax on domestically produced crude oil to Rs 8,400 per tonne from Rs 9,600 per tonne with effect from Wednesday.
The tax is levied in the form of Special Additional Excise Duty (SAED).
The SAED on the export of diesel, petrol and jet fuel or ATF, has been retained at nil. The new rates are effective from May 1, an official notification said.
India first imposed windfall profit taxes on July 1, 2022, joining a host of nations that tax supernormal profits of energy companies.
The tax rates are reviewed every fortnight based on average oil prices in the previous two weeks.
