Actor Lee Sun-Kyun's death has prompted calls for an inquiry from a number of South Korean artists and cultural groups, including Parasite director Bong Joon-Ho.
Last month, news about Lee's death at the age of 48 spread throughout several media sites. The Parasite star was discovered dead in a vehicle in a park in Seoul on December 27, 2023. After Lee's family stated he left what seemed like a suicide note, the the media reported that police had been looking for him.
Calls for In-Depth Investigation
In a report by People, citing two other publications, a group called the Association of Solidarity of Cultural Artists demanded that South Korean authorities maintain their investigation into Lee's death, which was announced more than two weeks ago.
Actor Lee's terrible death has brought the group together, and they are determined that no such occurrence should ever happen again, according to a statement they issued, per The Hollywood Reporter. "We will call for a probe to discover the truth [of Lee's death], request media outlets to delete articles that do not fulfill their function as journalism, as well as urge authorities to revise the law to protect the human rights of artists."
A news conference about Lee's death will be held on Friday, January 12, according to the association. Among the notable South Korean entertainment industry personalities scheduled to be in attendance is Bong, who collaborated with Lee on the 2019 thriller-comedy Parasite.
The authorities had been investigating Lee for months for possible illicit drug usage at the residence of a Seoul bar hostess when he passed away. He had just completed his third 19-hour interview with police on the probe when he was discovered dead, as reported by The Korea Herald. Even as the inquiry progressed, Lee insisted he was innocent.
Concerning Blackmail Attempts
In connection with allegations of blackmailing Lee, the police sent two women to the prosecution last week for more investigation and possible indictment, as reported by South Korea's Yonhap News Agency. One of whom was the bar hostess, and the other was her female companion, who was also identified as a former screen actress.
In September 2023, the hostess allegedly conned Lee out of 300 million won by claiming that an anonymous hacker was attempting to expose their connection and that money was necessary to stop the hacker.
In October of the same year, the former actress was accused of having taken 50 million won from Lee separately in relation to the alleged drug usage.
It has been revealed that the former actress gave the authorities a tip about the bar hostess' suspected drug usage last year by submitting a sample of her hair. Police think that the former actress first threatened to sue the bar hostess for money over the drug claims, but when the threat failed, she turned to the police with a drug tip about the hostess.
Thus, the two ladies were not considered accomplices by the police.
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