This image of actor Lee Sun-kyun is provided by CJ ENM (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
INCHEON, Oct. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — Oscar-winning “Parasite” actor Lee Sun-kyun claimed Monday he doesn’t know a third-generation scion of a South Korean family-owned conglomerate, who is currently under an internal police investigation over suspected illegal drug use, his lawyer said Monday.
The comments came as the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency has begun the internal investigation into eight people, including Lee, the scion and a would-be entertainer, on charges of using illegal drugs on multiple occasions in their homes or nightclubs in Seoul’s Gangnam district this year.
Talking to Yonhap News Agency over the phone, Lee’s lawyer quoted the actor as saying that he doesn’t personally know the scion or the would-be entertainer, a claim that rejects speculation that they might have spent time together using drugs.
Asked whether Lee is admitting or denying the suspicion of drug use, the lawyer said, “It’s difficult to speak yet,” adding Lee “will cooperate with the police investigation sincerely.”
While the police have yet to book Lee as a suspect, they are said to have discovered a lead in connection with the actor’s suspected drug use.
Lee’s management agency had also said the actor filed a complaint of blackmail with the police against another person involved in the drug case, claiming he had been extorted out of hundreds of thousands of dollars through blackmail.
The lawyer explained that the actor wasn’t aware of the number or the identities of the blackmailer, including whether there was a single person or two involved.
Veteran actor Lee, 48, starred in “Helpless” (2012), “All About My Wife” (2012) and “A Hard Day” (2014). He won a Screen Actors Guild Award with his cast mates for his role in “Parasite” by director Bong Joon-ho.
(Yonhap)
