Renowned South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun, famed for his role as Park Dong-ik in the Oscar-winning film Parasite, has passed away at the age of 48. The BBC reports that he was discovered deceased in a car within a park in Seoul.

In response to the tragic news, Lee’s agency, HODU&U Entertainment, issued a statement expressing profound sorrow and discouraging the spread of unverified information. The media reported that Lee had been sought by the police after his family reported his departure from home, leaving behind a note.

Lee Sun-kyun had been under investigation for alleged drug use amid an ongoing crackdown in South Korea. Sky News reported that he had been questioned three times, including a 19-hour session over the weekend. According to news agency Yonhap, Lee claimed he had been deceived into taking illegal drugs by a hostess who later attempted to blackmail him.

In a brief statement made before questioning in October, Lee apologized for the disappointment caused by his involvement in an unpleasant incident. He expressed regret for the hardship his family was enduring and revealed that he had attended South Korea’s prestigious Korea National University of Arts.

While initially gaining fame in South Korea through the sitcom Lovers, Lee became best known for his role in the 2019 black-comedy thriller Parasite. The film received widespread acclaim and earned Lee a Screen Actors Guild award for cast in a motion picture in 2020. Parasite made history by winning four Oscars at the 2020 Academy Awards, including the prestigious ‘Best Picture’ award, marking the first time a non-English language movie achieved this honor.

Lee Sun-kyun continued his successful career by starring in Apple TV+’s first Korean-language original series, Dr Brain, in 2022. This six-part sci-fi thriller, centered on a neurologist investigating a mysterious family accident through brain experiments, earned him a nomination for best actor at the International Emmy Awards.