Parasite director Bong Joon-ho is among a number of artists and arts organisations in South Korea who have called for an investigation into the circumstances of the death last month of actor Lee Sun-kyun.
Lee, who played the wealthy father in Bong’s Oscar-winning film, died last month in an apparent suicide, at the age of 48.
The actor was under investigation at the time for alleged drug use, and had reportedly been questioned for 19 hours the weekend before his death.
Lee said he had been tricked into taking the drugs; last Friday, the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency referred two women to the prosecution for further investigation and potential indictment on charges of blackmailing for 350m won.
A significant number of South Korean celebrities, in particular pop stars and actors, have killed themselves in recent years, including Moonbin, Haesoo and Jonghyun.
The Korea Herald reports that an organisation called The Association of Solidarity of Cultural Artists, comprised of 29 culture and arts groups, has released a statement urging authorities and the media to prevent similar deaths in the future.
It says: “In the face of the tragic death of actor Lee Sun-kyun, we shared the same heart that this should never happen again. We will call for investigation officials’ probe to discover the truth, request media outlets to delete articles that do not fit their function as media, as well as urge authorities to revise the law to protect the human rights of artists.”
The organisation has announced a press conference, featuring Bong and other film-makers, on Friday.
• In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counsellor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
