Entertainment industry tycoons call for answers regarding death of Lee Sun-kyun

Korean entertainment leaders, including director Bong Joon-ho, will demand an explanation on late actor Lee Sun-kyun's drug investigation. They call for a comprehensive inquiry, deletion of unethical news and revision of laws to protect artists.

Actor Lee Sun-kyun's funeral altar is set up at the Seoul National University Hospital's funeral home in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Dec. 27, 2023. [NEWS1]

Leaders in the Korean entertainment industry, including director Bong Joon-ho and singer Yoon Jong-shin, have decided to issue a statement regarding the death of late actor Lee Sun-kyun and demand a detailed explanation from the police on how it handled the late actor's drug use allegation in an upcoming press conference on Friday, according to a press release Tuesday.

The press conference will be organized by the Cultural and Artistic Professionals Conference (CAPC), an organization comprised of 29 associations and guilds within the entertainment industry, including the Director’s Guild of Korea, the Busan International Film Festival and Women in Film Korea.

Director Bong, who worked with Lee in the 2019 Oscar-winning film “Parasite,” singer Yoon, director Lee Won-tae and actor Choi Duk-moon will be present at the press conference, along with executives from member associations. Other attendants were not confirmed as of press time Tuesday.

“We have all come together under the firm belief that no such incident should ever take place again, after facing the unfortunate death of actor Lee Sun-kyun,” the CAPC said in the press release.

Director Bong Joon-ho at a masterclass event held at the Le Grand Rex theater in Paris, France on Feb. 27, 2023. [NEWS1]

The formal statement on Lee’s death will demand a comprehensive investigation to determine whether the police’s probe into Lee’s alleged drug use was appropriately conducted, the deletion of news articles regarding Lee that violate reporting ethics, and the revision of current laws to better protect the rights of artists in the culture and entertainment industry, according to the association.

Lee had been under police investigation since October last year on the suspicion of drug use including marijuana and psychotropic drugs, and was found dead in an apparent suicide in a car parked in Seongbuk District, central Seoul, on Dec. 27.

To find out more about Lee Sun-kyun, visit Celeb Confirmed

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]