- Lee Sun-kyun’s private funeral
- Media scrutiny over drug allegations
- South Korea’s strict moral standards
Lee Sun-kyun was laid to rest in a private funeral attended by his family, effectively concealing media cameras that followed him during his final months as he was investigated for drug use.
Former colleagues of Lee attended several entertainment business gatherings to pay their respects, cancelling them. Lee was laid to rest on Friday, accompanied by close friends and colleagues, after his family and friends begged Korean media to cease their “painful and abrupt” visits to his residence, agency, and interment.
All of this has been viewed millions of times on YouTube: his purported final note to his wife, which a Korean media outlet was criticized for publishing, CCTV footage of the last drive he allegedly took, and reruns of his last public appearance for police interrogation the day before his death.
On Wednesday, the body of the 48-year-old actor was discovered in a vehicle in Seoul; police suspect he committed suicide. It stunned the nation, where he had amassed a ubiquitous name over more than two decades of acting, prior to his meteoric rise to international renown with the critically acclaimed film Parasite.
Anger also exists, in addition to sorrow and sympathy, over the unrelenting public scrutiny that many believe he has been subjected to since October, when police began interrogating him. Outside South Korea, the celebrity narcotics probe scandal was shockingly catastrophic.
A ‘model’ celebrity’s downfall
Lee’s descent from grace was equally remarkable as his ascent. He was well-liked in a competitive and conservative South Korea that holds celebrities to the standard of model citizens. He was a tremendously successful family man.
Peter Jong-ho Na, a psychiatrist, stated that “destructive shame” results from the “overabundance of attention… social pressure and finger-pointing” associated with police investigations involving South Korean personalities.
A Seoul barman accused Lee of carrying ketamine and marijuana in October. He denied intentionally consuming them.
At the time of his death, the investigation was still ongoing, and he had not been prosecuted. However, the accusations—and reports that this occurred in a pub with female escorts—tarnished an otherwise impeccable and virtuous reputation.
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“By being involved in such a vexatious incident, I earnestly apologise for causing considerable dismay to a broad audience. Lee expressed sympathy towards his family, who are currently enduring such excruciating suffering, in an early October statement to reporters.
According to Yonhap News, he was interrogated three times, including 19 hours last Saturday. Lee was eliminated from advertisements and productions in which he had been cast or opted out. Certain news outlets even speculated that advertisers might be able to sue him for millions of dollars.
Lee’s request for a discreet final appearance for interrogation was denied, according to the police. Although they denied that they were more cognizant of the public duress Lee would encounter. They maintained that the proceedings were “carried out with [his] consent.”
In addition, the commissioner of the national police denied that the investigation was the cause of Lee’s demise, but he stated that he would investigate whether any issues had arisen.
Extensive coverage of the case by Korean media reached a hyper-connected audience. An estimated ninety percent or more of the population utilises social media. Thus, instantaneous updates regarding Lee were delivered through messaging platforms such as KakaoTalk or YouTube. The tabloid-style drip-feed was further fueled by Lee’s ravenous appetite. In fact, the national broadcaster KBS was compelled to broadcast the private conversation that Lee had with the female bar staff.
One online comment reads, “He died not of drugs but of the humiliation inflicted upon him by others.”
An additional one posted on YouTube asserts, “The penalties for defamation in this nation are incredibly lax.” I sincerely hope that those who wrote stories without evidence would reflect.
An undesired casualty
However, Lee’s demise has not been met with universal sympathy; he did not appear to be the ideal victim, as he acknowledged to being in a pub with a female escort and consuming the substances she handed him, despite his denial that they were illegal substances.
Adultery insinuation was disgraceful; it remained illegal in this country until 2015.
A drug war that included the probe has resulted in tens of thousands of arrests.
This is supported in South Korea, where drug use is stigmatised to the point of social exclusion; even ordinary citizens are shunned by friends and family for using drugs, and the vilification is heightened for public figures. Such accusations are sufficient to destroy careers.
With regards to rigid stances on drugs and conservative social values, South Korea is hardly an aberration in the region. Japan, Singapore, and China are all in a comparable situation to Western nations, where substance attitudes have shifted and rehabilitation is frequently the solution to addiction. Thailand is the sole nation in Asia to have legalized the traffic of cannabis.
South Korea may differ from the pressure-generating expectation of public figures, particularly celebrities, to behave better.
“Korea’s celebrity morality is stricter than others “Ha Jae-kun, a popular culture critic, said. Furthermore, this is not limited to public figures. It is speculated that the mayor of Seoul committed suicide in 2020 in response to allegations of sexual harassment.
In South Korea, there is limited opportunity to seek assistance. This is similar to numerous other Asian countries characterized by a societal aversion to discussing mental health and substance abuse.
Furthermore, it has one of the highest suicide rates globally. In the past year alone, news headlines have featured K-pop stars, adolescents succumbing to unfathomable pressures, and a 23-year-old educator who committed suicide due to parental bullying.
Lee’s family has decided against an autopsy, even though he may have committed suicide.
Yellow post-it notes were affixed outside the funeral home by admirers, mirroring the tributes that have inundated Korean social media: “May your wherever you go be comforted by the warmth of spring during this chilly winter.”
