Parasite Actor Lee Sun-kyun Dead at 48

The international acting community is mourning a painful loss. 

Lee Sun-kyun, who starred in the Academy Award-winning film Parasite, has died, South Korean police confirmed to NBC News. He was 48.

Police told the outlet that Lee was found dead in a parked car in Seoul on Dec. 27 with a charcoal briquette in the passenger seat. Law enforcement started looking for the actor when his manager reported Lee had left home after writing what appeared to be a suicide note. 

The actor, per the Associated Press, had been under investigation by police over the last few weeks for alleged use of illegal drugs, however Lee had maintained his innocence. 

His management company, HODU&U Entertainment, shared a statement with ABC News that read, “There’s no way to contain sorrow and despair,” asking that the public “refrain from spreading false facts based on speculation and malicious reports so that the deceased’s final journey will not be unfair.”

In addition to sharing that there are plans for a private funeral for friends and colleagues, the statement concluded with, “We express our deepest condolences on the deceased’s final journey.”