MBC’s investigative journalism TV program PD Notebook aired an episode titled “70 Days, the Last Moments of the Late Actor Lee Sun Kyun” on January 16th, shedding light on the events leading up to the actor’s tragic demise.
The whistleblower, referred to as A, originally reported the case to the Incheon Police in September of the previous year. A witnessed Mr. Kim, the manager of a hostless club, continuously providing drugs to his girlfriend. A decided to report the incident, but the focus of the investigation unexpectedly shifted towards celebrities, including G-Dragon and the late actor Lee Sun Kyun.
A expressed their distress, stating, “I feel really bad. But I honestly think that I shouldn’t take all the blame. I reported it to the police because of my girlfriend, but everything got blown out of proportion.”
When asked if A anticipated the inclusion of Lee Sun Kyun’s name in the police report, A replied, “Never. But names like Lee Sun Kyun and G-Dragon suddenly came up out of nowhere, and others, including my ex-girlfriend, were not mentioned.”
The police’s involvement of Lee Sun Kyun in the case was based on statements from the suspect, Mr. Kim, who worked at the establishment. According to Mr. Kim’s interrogation records, it was revealed that Lee Sun Kyun’s name was mentioned 196 times during the 11 sessions.
The Incheon Police initiated the drug investigation of Mr. Kim on October 19th of the previous year. Only three hours later, at 5:17 PM, a local media outlet reported that a top actor was under investigation for drug allegations. While Lee Sun Kyun’s name was not explicitly mentioned in the report, details about his past works were included.
Despite negative results from urine and hair tests, Lee Sun Kyun was summoned by the police three times. He requested private attendance during the third summons, but it was not granted.
Police officer Ryu Geun Chang expressed concerns about investigations becoming too intense, citing cases where individuals being examined by prosecutors have tragically died. He emphasized the need to avoid situations where people are pushed to their limits to take their own lives.
Some people raised questions about why the police were particularly focused on Lee Sun Kyun’s case, leading to opinions suggesting a connection to the police being unable to trace traces of illegal drugs on G-Dragon.
Professor Bae Sang Hoon from Ulsan University’s Department of Police Administration pointed out that the police may have faced challenges when G-Dragon wasn’t charged. Investigating a big star like G-Dragon without finding any evidence could have created pressure, potentially leading to an overly thorough investigation of the late actor.
