Lee had been under investigation over allegations of illegal drug use on multiple occasions this year, the agency said.

The 48-year-old was found unconscious next to briquettes inside a car at a park in Seoul this morning, after his wife reported to police that Lee had left home and she had found what appeared to be a suicide note, Yonhap said.

Authorities found Lee in a search triggered by the report that he was missing, a fire official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Seoul’s Jongno and Seongbuk police stations did not respond to phone calls. Lee’s agency, HODU&U Entertainment, also did not respond to calls.

South Korea has tough drug laws, and drug crimes are typically punishable by at least six months in prison or up to 14 years for repeat offenders and dealers.

According to Yonhap, Lee had been questioned three times by police, including for 19 hours over the weekend, on suspicions of using marijuana and other illegal substances at the home of a hostess working at a high-end bar in Seoul’s Gangnam district.

The actor claimed he had been tricked by the hostess into taking the drugs, and that he did not know what he was taking. The hostess had then tried to blackmail him, Yonhap reported.

Born in 1975, Lee starred as a rich family’s father in “Parasite”, a 2019 dark-comedy thriller directed by Bong Joon-ho, which won the Academy Award in February 2020 for best picture, best director, best original screenplay, and best international feature film.

Lee had also played leading roles in South Korean movies including the 2012 thriller “Helpless” and 2014’s “All About My Wife”, among others. He had the lead role in Apple TV+’s first Korean-language original series, “Dr Brain”, a sci-fi thriller that rolled out in 2021.