It's already Wednesday in South Korea, where news outlets share sad news about one of the break-out stars of 2019's Oscar-winning film, "Parasite." Actor Lee Sun-kyun, who played the father character, was found dead at age 48, according to police, Yonhap news agency reported.

Via Reuters:

Lee had been under investigation over illegal drug use allegations amid an ongoing government crackdown on illegal drugs.

Lee was found unconscious next to [charcoal] briquettes inside a car at a park in Seoul on Wednesday morning, after his wife reported to police that Lee had left home and she had found what appeared to be a suicide note, Yonhap said.

South Korea has tough drug laws, and drug crimes are typically punishable by at least six months in prison or up to 14 years for repeat offenders and dealers.

The Korean Times added in its report that the actor had recently undergone three rounds of police questioning in a drug investigation:

[Authorities questioned Lee over] suspicions of using marijuana and other illegal drugs at the home of a hostess working at a high-end bar in Seoul's Gangnam district on multiple occasions since early this year, including last Saturday.

The actor claimed he was tricked by the hostess into taking the drugs and that he did not know what he was taking.

Lee tested negative in both the brief reagent test conducted during police investigations and the lab-based drug test by the National Forensic Service last month.

The previous day, Lee submitted a polygraph test request to the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency charged with the investigation, claiming his innocence.

South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun was found dead Wednesday at Waryong Park in Jongno-gu, central Seoul, according to police.https://t.co/nCbtIG8yO6

— The Korea Herald 코리아헤럴드 (@TheKoreaHerald) December 27, 2023

Lee's alleged involvement comes nearly a week after police arrested a doctor suspected of giving the actor and nine others illegal drugs, the Korea Herald reported:

A South Korean doctor accused of providing narcotics to actor Lee Sun-kyun, currently under investigation for drug use, has been arrested by police late Wednesday.

Incheon District Court issued an arrest warrant for the 42-year-old suspect, on request of the drug unit of the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency, saying that there is a risk that he may flee or destroy evidence.

The unnamed suspect, a plastic surgeon at a hospital in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul, is believed to have provided drugs to Lee through a 29-year-old hostess of a high-end bar in Gangnam. Police are investigating allegations that Lee took drugs at the hostess' home.

The doctor also allegedly used drugs himself.

The report continued with authorities' progress in the investigation, including that the case into one suspect, a K-pop star, had been closed:

Incheon police have been conducting a drug investigation on 10 individuals including Lee and K-pop star G-Dragon, who claimed that he took the drugs without knowing what it was. The drug tests came back negative for both Lee and G-Dragon, and the police officially closed the case on the singer last Thursday.

"Parasite," which took home four Academy Awards in 2020, including Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, and International Feature Film (in addition to the Palme d'Or, the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival, where it premiered), was Lee's best-known movie. But he had garnered lead roles in previous South Korean films and TV series:

(Reuters) Born in 1975, Lee starred as a rich family's father in "Parasite", and also played leading roles in South Korean movies including the 2012 thriller "Helpless" and 2014's "All About My Wife", among others.

Lee had the lead role in Apple TV+'s first Korean-language original series, which rolled out in 2021. "Dr. Brain", a six-episode sci-fi thriller, was about a cold-hearted neurologist, Koh Se-won, who tries to find clues to a mysterious family accident through brain experiments.

A fire official told the Korean Times that "(a)s [Lee] was pronounced dead, he wasn't taken to hospital."

As this is a developing story, RedState will provide updates as they become available.