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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Edited photo of Actor Prakash Raj taking dip at Maha Kumbh Mela goes viral, complaint filed
Bengaluru: Actor Prakash Raj on Tuesday clarified that a photo of him taking a holy dip at the Maha Kumbh Mela, which is doing rounds across social media platforms, was fake. The multilingual actor has filed a police complaint against the miscreants in this regard.
The digitally manipulated image was posted by an account named Prashant Sambaragi, captioned: "Actor Prakash Raj at the Kumbh Mela. He bathed in the Triveni Sangam. Let's hope that his sins are washed away." The image also bizarrely showed the actor’s hand blending into an artificial design, suggesting the use of AI editing.
Taking to ‘X,’ actor Prakash Raj clarified that it was fake news. He stated, "Fake news. The job of the cowardly army of the 'False King' is to spread fake news and defile even their holy worship. A police complaint has been filed. Let's see what they do in the courtroom."
ಸುಳ್ಳು ಸುದ್ದಿ
— Prakash Raj (@prakashraaj) January 28, 2025
“ಸುಳ್ಳ ರಾಜ” ನ ಹೇಡಿಗಳ ಸೈನ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ .. ಅವರ ಪವಿತ್ರ ಪೂಜೆಯಲ್ಲೂ ಸುಳ್ಳು ಸುದ್ದಿ ಹಬ್ಬಿಸಿ ಹೊಲಸು ಮಾಡುವುದೇ ಕೆಲಸ .. police complaint ದಾಖಲಾಗಿದೆ .. ಕೋರ್ಟಿನ ಕಟಕಟೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಏನು ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾರೋ ನೋಡೋಣ 😊 #justasking pic.twitter.com/S6ySeyFKmh
