French newspaper reports on the death of actor Lee Sun Kyun... ”A warning bell has rung in South Korea”

A leading French newspaper reported on the late actor Lee Sung-kyun's case, highlighting the Korean society that demands high moral standards from public figures.

On the 14th (local time), the French daily Libération reported in detail on the alleged drug use of Lee Sung-kyun, an actor who gained international fame through the movie "Parasite: A Family Halfway Under the Earth," and the fact that he expressed his regret over the allegations, as well as the intensive media focus on every police investigation despite a negative drug test result.

Liberation also included in its article the 19-hour police investigation that took place shortly before his death.

It also reported that since his death, the Korean film industry has denounced the oppression of the police and the media.

It continued, "His death has set off alarm bells for many people," as "major figures in the film industry, including Pong Joon-ho, director of 'Parasite' are urging the enactment of a law to protect the human rights of artists in the deceased's name.

Liberation noted that this has long been cumulative in Korean society. It noted that K-pop stars Moonbin (ASTRO) and singer Hye Soo last year, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon in 2020, and former President Roh Moo-hyun took his own life 11 years earlier.

Along with this, he said, "Such an accumulation raises questions about the relationship between Korean society and celebrities.

Professor Antoine Coppola of Sungkyunkwan University said in Libération, "The French find it hard to understand, but public figures [in Korea] have had the responsibility to set an example for quite some time.

He explained that "there is a kind of puritanism that all public matters must conform to social dogma [dogmatic beliefs, doctrines, theories, etc.]."

Based on Professor Coppola's explanation, Liberation reported that the extent of the disgrace experienced by Lee Seong-Gyun, who was investigated for drug use and frequenting entertainment establishments, can be adequately estimated.

Liberation also said that the careers of Lee Sung-kyun and many others in the film industry have been shattered in the face of morality.

The Liberation cited actress Kim Min-yi as a prime example. It mentioned that Kim Mini rose to the highest position in director Park Chan-wook's "The Young Lady," but suffered millions of dollars in damages due to her affair with director Hong Sang-soo, a married man, and has since acted only in Hong's films.