Latest update on the drug scandal surrounding Lee Sun-kyun's death

Lee Sun-kyun was a South Korean actor best known for his role in the award-winning film 'Parasite' by Bong Joon-ho. Many people were shocked when he was indicted in a drug scandal in South Korea.

Shortly after, on December 27, 2023, the acclaimed actor ended his life - most likely in response to the (still) ongoing investigations. Now, there is news about the way the drug charges were leaked to the press, causing public shame to Lee Sun-kyun.

Content warning: This gallery contains mentions of death and self-harm.

Lee Sun-kyun was born on March 2, 1975, in Seoul, South Korea. Acting was always his passion and he studied at the Korea National University of Arts. According to the Korean Film Council, he was also a part of history because he was in the first graduating cohort of Drama majors.

Early in his career, Lee Sun-kyun started off acting in musicals, according to the Korean Film Council. In 2001, he landed his first role as Brad Majors in a Korean adaptation of ‘The Rocky Horror Show’.

Life on the small stage was not enough for Lee Sun-kyun, as he broadened his horizons to TV. He worked on small roles for various projects for a while before landing his break on two of Hallyu's, the post-1990s Korean pop culture wave's biggest K-dramas.

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2007 was a significant year for Lee Sun-kyun, as it was the year he landed two major roles in what would end up being two of South Korea’s most famous K-dramas of all time: ‘Coffee Prince’ and ‘Behind the White Tower’!

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Since then, Lee Sun-kyun has become a household name in South Korea and has also expanded beyond TV to work in several Korean arthouse films to expand on his acting repertoire, reports the Korean Film Council.

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Some of Lee Sun-kyun’s works include ‘Pasta’, ‘Golden Time’, ‘Paju’, and ‘My Mister’.

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Despite already being a recognisable face amongst K-drama fans, Lee Sun-hyun only gained proper mainstream international recognition with his work on Bong Joon-ho’s ‘Parasite’.

‘Parasite’ is an award-winning film by Bong Joon-ho that touches on the topic of the wealth disparity and the social inequality of South Korea, according to NPR.

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The film was critically acclaimed and can be said to be one of the most iconic Korean films, as the BBC reports that it won multiple awards at the 2020 Oscars alone, even winning Best Picture!

Since then, Lee Sun-kyun has been working on other projects that have kept him in the spotlight. Most recently, the actor was in the 2023 musical comedy film ‘Killing Romance’ which had become a cult favourite amongst Koreans, reported MSN.

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Unfortunately, despite how he is being celebrated in Korea again for his most recent work, Lee Sun-kyun was embroiled in a drug scandal on October 20, reports Yonhap news agency.

According to Variety, Lee Sun-kyun was alleged to have consumed drugs in a police investigation into “eight people... over allegations they took illegal drugs multiple times this year”.

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While not initially named a suspect at the time of the Variety report, the police had called Lee Sun-kyun into questioning as a major lead in the investigation as he was the one reported to have brought the matter to the police himself.

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Other stars involved in the investigation into drugs by the Korea Metropolitan Police include G-Dragon from one of South Korea’s most famous K-pop bands of all time, BIGBANG.

Others include actress-singer Jung Da-eun, K-influencer Han Seo-hee, and the granddaughter of one of Korea's biggest dairy manufacturers, Hwang Ha-na, according to Korea JoongAng Daily. So far, ten influential Korean entertainment figures are under investigation.

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Despite not being named as a suspect, Lee Sun-kyun has suffered negative consequences as a result of his involvement in the investigation.

According to Allkpop, Lee Sun-kyun has dropped out of the drama he is currently filming, 'No Way Out,' due to the scandal, and has been replaced. He has also been reported by The Korea Times to be under a travel ban as a result of the ongoing investigation.

On November 5, Korea JoongAng Daily reported that Lee Sun-kyun had admitted to consuming drugs despite having tested negative for drug use. However, the caveat was that the actor had taken them “unknowingly” after being “deceived by the unnamed 29-year-old female manager” of the entertainment establishment in the center of the drug scandal.

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Other than the ongoing scandal with his involvement and admittance to drug use, Lee Sun-kyun has been reported by Allkpop to have allegedly also involved his wife, actress Jeon Hye-jin, in an extortion scandal related to the drug investigation.

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According to the same Allkpop report, Lee Sun-kyun was allegedly extorted for his drug use by an unknown woman at an entertainment establishment frequented by him and other celebrities (including those indicted in the drug use investigation) and where the drug use scandal is centred.

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According to the report, Lee Sun-kyun decided to report the matter to the authorities because of the exorbitant amount he was allegedly being extorted for, which required him to borrow approximately 350 million won from his wife. The extortion investigation eventually led to the discovery of drug use amongst Korea’s entertainment elites by the police.

Korea JoongAng Daily reported on November 24 that Lee Sun-kyun managed to test negative for two drug tests. Results for a third test were still pending at the time of the report.

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Despite already testing negative for two drug tests, Lee Sun-kyun was still under investigation and did not get let off the hook. According to The Korea Times, police applied to extend his travel ban in order to facilitate the ongoing investigations.

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According to KBIzoom, the police were forced to take a different approach to the case because both Lee Sun-kyun's and G-Dragon's tests came back negative. This means that the testimony of a witness who accused the celebrity of drug use and is allegedly the same nightlift establishment manager Lee Sun-kyun accuses of extortion is no longer credible.

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Despite the fact that Lee Sun-kyun's travel ban was extended, KBIzoom reports that police was forced to take a different approach due to public criticism of the handling of the case, in which the celebrities involved may have been falsely accused of drug consumption merely based on the word of a witness rather than concrete evidence.

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Criticism and change in the way the investigation was handled had come too late as it was reported by Sports Chosun that amidst the ongoing investigations, Lee Sun-kyun had decided to take his own life on December 27.

According to Yonhap News, a day before the actor's death, Lee Sun-kyun had requested a polygraph lie detector test through his lawyer, claiming that the polygraph test should be undergone not only for the actor but also for his accuser.

According to the same Yonhap News report, having a polygraph test would more effectively conclude investigations by proving not only Lee Sun-kyun's innocence but also his accuser's lack of credibility in her account.

According to 8days, Lee Sun-kyun's actor filed this request due to the actor's "unfair" situation in which police imposed forced and futile tests based on witness accusation rather than conclusive evidence, especially when the reliability of the witness had not been established prior.

On the same day that the request was made, 8days reported that the YouTube channel 'Garo Sero Research Institute', known for celebrity exposes, had released phone recordings allegedly between Lee Sun-kyun and one of his blackmailers in a YouTube video.

The video not only revealed the supposed identity of Lee Sun-kyun's blackmailer but also alleged that the actor was having an extramarital relationship with her, which was purportedly one of the reasons the actor was blackmailed and hidden from the police and the public during the first investigation.

Tragically just a day after on December 27, Reuters reported that Lee Sun-kyun was found dead in his car in Waryong Park. His death had been ruled as self-harm, and left behind what was allegedly a farewell note, at home.

AsiaOne reports that part of the note left behind by Lee Sun-kyun not only included an apology to his management agency for the monetary penalties associated with the cancellation of his projects as a result of the scandal, it also included messages to his wife, actress Jeon Hye-jin: "I can't help it", and ""I think there is no other way".

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Lee Sun-kyun's death sparked several serious questions in the K-entertainment world. Not only did the event highlight what CNN describes as the extreme pressures Korean celebrities face in protecting their public image, but questions about the investigations were raised, putting pressure on the police for their handling of the investigation, which tragically resulted in the loss of a life.

According to 8days, the police have finally filed for an arrest warrant for the late actor's accuser on December 28 on suspicion of blackmail and other charges as a result of Lee Sun-kyun's death and public outrage.

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The police's actions are ironic in that the accuser was not charged or investigated for the blackmail claim that Lee Sun-kyun brought to their attention, which sparked the entire chain of events before the actor died.

According to 8days, Lee Sun-kyun's accuser did not turn up for the initial court summons on the day of the actor's death and was only arrested the next day.

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According to the Korea Herald, the accuser appeared in court with a child for her warrant hearing. In addition to facing police charges related to the drug investigation, she is now being accused of child abuse by the Korea Child Abuse Prevention Association for involving a child in this high-stress situation, which could result in an additional criminal charge.

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Unfortunately, the bizarreness of involving a child in the situation is related to the case involving Lee Sun-kyun and his accuser. According to Allkpop, the accuser, also known as 'Female A' in the official investigations, was notorious for extorting money from men she met on a dating app by threatening them with a child support scam. Because of the widespread coverage of Lee Sun-kyun's case, the men are considering filing a report against Female A for past fraud.

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Dispatch, a Korean media outlet known for its celebrity exposés, released details on Lee Sun-kyun's blackmail ordeal on December 31. The report accused police of both "inflating the information without identifying facts" and illegally leaking investigation news to the press by comparing official investigation news with timings of press releases on the case.

With evidence of phone screenshots, Dispatch had also managed to piece out the accusers' modus operandi: one of the blackmailers, also known as 'Kim' in the report, had been threatened by two other persons, 'Lee' and 'Shin'. 'Kim' then later colluded with her co-conspirator in the blackmailing of celebrities, 'Park', and turned to target Lee Sun-kyun when she had failed to extort money from the celebrity composer Jeong Da Eun.

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According to Naver, the blackmailers' identities have been revealed by the YouTube investigative crime channel 'Caracula Crime Lab' to be single mother Park So-Jung, and Kim Nam-hee, the manager of the entertainment establishment and purported mistress of Lee Sun-kyun, whose identity has also been previously revealed by the YouTube channel 'Garo Sero Research Institute'.

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Today Online reported that Park So-jung was the woman who had been accused of running a child support extortion scam and has been identified as the woman who brought a child to her court hearing. She had met her co-conspirator, Kim Nam-hee, whilst they both were serving in prison and the two lived in the same apartment building after serving their sentences.

Amidst the wave of new details surrounding the case, Soompi states that Lee Sun-kyun's agency, HODU&U Entertainment, has issued a strong warning to the public, urging them not to share unverified information.

According to the same Soompi report, HODU&U Entertainment has taken swift action by suing a reporter for their erroneous report on the actor, which was released on December 27.

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Allkpop reports that TV Chosun was likely the media outlet affected and currently being sued by HODU&U Entertainment as the outlet suddenly withdrew all postings regarding Lee Sun-kyun's farewell letter on January 4.

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The aftermath of Lee Sun-kyun's death appears to have been not only an emotional blow to his surviving wife, Jeon Hye-jin, but also a blow to her career. According to the Times of India, the actress' upcoming film, 'Mission: Cross,' has been postponed to an unspecified date.

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According to Deadline, on January 12, 'Parasite' director Bong Joon-ho and several other Korean celebrities, entertainment companies, and filmmakers formed the 'Korean Association of Solidarity of Cultural Artists' to formally demand a thorough investigation of the case and for accountability from the police and Korean media outlets.

Continuing from the same report from Deadline, the formation of the association and collective demand for police accountability marks a first in Korean entertainment where Korean entertainment elites have rallied together to put pressure on the police and on the media, with the aim of "prevent(ing) a second or third victim” like Lee Sun-kyun.

The Guardian also reports that the association has additionally demanded for Korean lawmakers to "revise the law to protect the human rights of artists," whereby celebrites can be better protected in future incidents.

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According to The Korea Herald, the demands of the 'Korean Association of Solidarity of Cultural Artists' are now being investigated as of January 18, as the police have launched a separate investigation into how the police handled Lee Sun-kyun's drug investigation, specifically how details of the investigation were "leaked to the public".

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In an update on March 23, Yonhap News reported that a senior police officer had turned himself in and admitted to leaking the investigation data on Lee Sun-kyun to the press. He has since been discharged from police duty.

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Yonhap News reports that the officer responsible was not part of the investigation team but had managed to access and leak the information regarding Lee Sun-kyun's drug case. Investigations are now ongoing as to how he gained access to the information in the first place.

Image: Next Entertainment World