SEOUL.- The Oscar winner director of Parasites, Bong Joon-ho and other South Korean stars requested on Friday the opening of an investigation into the behavior of the police and the media In the days before the death of actor Lee Sun-kyun.
“We urge authorities to conduct a thorough investigation to determine whether there were any security lapses in the police investigation,” Bong said Friday at a news conference, attended by South Korean filmmakers and industry figures.
The director added that authorities should examine whether unauthorized statements had been made by police officers involved in the investigation, whose communications with the media were, he said, inappropriate.
Bong Joon-ho read a statement signed by around thirty organizations in the South Korean entertainment industry, including film festivals, actors’ unions and the local screenwriters’ guild.
Caso del actor Lee Sun-kyun
Famous throughout the world for his role in Parasite, Lee Sun-kyun, 48, was found dead in a car in Seoul last month. He had been under investigation by the authorities since October for the alleged consumption of cannabis and other psychotropic drugs.
Following his death, police were suspected of leaking confidential parts of the investigation, triggering frenzied media coverage and a wave of damaging messages on social media.
Lee, praised in the past for his good image, saw his reputation tarnished when the investigation became public.
In a country that is very strict on the matter, this scandal deprived him of advertising contracts and appearances on television and in movies, for a loss of profits estimated at 10 billion won (7.68 million dollars) by the South Korean press.
Bong Joon-ho and other personalities called for legislation to be strengthened to better protect artists and entertainment professionals, and urged the media to behave better in the future.
Source: AFP
