Alleged blackmailer of ‘Parasite’ actor Lee Sun-kyun taken into custody

SEOUL: A woman suspected of blackmailing actor Lee Sun-kyun was taken into custody by local police on (Wednesday) Dec 27, a few hours after the actor was found dead in an apparent suicide.

According to reports, Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency apprehended the suspect, in her 20s, after she failed to appear at Incheon District Court on Dec 26 for a scheduled substantive review of her arrest warrant.

In South Korea, substantive review of an arrest warrant is a process by which an individual the police seek to arrest may present his case before a judge.

The suspect is accused of blackmailing the late actor and extorting 50 million won (US$38,800) from him. Lee claimed that he was threatened by the suspect and a 29-year-old hostess of a high-end bar. He said the two extorted a total of 350 million ($272,000) won from him.

Lee had undergone three rounds of police questioning starting on Oct 28 for alleged drug use, throughout which he claimed his innocence. The Parasite star claimed to have been tricked by the hostess into taking drugs that he thought were sleeping pills.

In November, Lee tested negative in both a reagent test conducted during police investigations and a comprehensive lab-based drug analysis of his hair samples by the National Forensic Service.

After the most recent 19-hour overnight interrogation on Dec 24, Lee said through his attorney that a lie detector test should be used to determine who, between Lee and the suspect, was telling the truth. The Korea Herald/ANN