The late actor Song Young-kyu has suddenly passed away, while his estranged wife and two daughters are keeping vigil at the funeral hall.
Song was found dead in a vehicle in an undisclosed location in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, around 8 a.m. today (4th), at the age of 55.
According to Yonhap News Agency, a woman reported the deceased Song Young-kyu in the vehicle to the police. The Yongin Eastern Police Station is currently investigating the details of the case.
The funeral hall has been set up in Room 1 at the Davos Hospital funeral home in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. Among those attending, his two daughters and wife are greeting mourners. Song Young-kyu was known to have a special bond with his two daughters. In the tvN entertainment program "The Best Cleaning," which aired in 2020, he mentioned that he sold the APT. he had lived in for 11 years to economize for his daughters' education.
Born in 1970, Song Young-kyu was an actor graduated from the Theater Department of Seoul Institute of the Arts. After working with the Seoul Municipal Musical Company, he officially debuted in 1994 with the children's musical "The Magical Master." Since then, he has played supporting roles in numerous dramas and films.
He also appeared in various dramas including "Mary: The Sound of Harvest," "God's Scale," "Don't Cry, My Love," "Jejungwon," "My Happy Home," "Suspicious Family," "The Chaser," "Oohlala Couple," "The Virus," "Gou's Book of Spirits," "Jeongi: The Goddess of Fire," "The Sun Shines Brightly," "You Are Surrounded," "The King of High School," "The Best Marriage," "Masked Prosecutor," "TV Novel: Shine Like a Star," "Remember: War of the Son," "Night in Paradise," "Hwarang," "Circle: Two Worlds Connected," "A Special Meal in Wonderland," "A Noble Lady," "Temperature of Love," "Love Revolution," the "Lawless Lawyer" series, "Miss Ma: The Goddess of Revenge," "Show Me Your Song," "Stove League," "Hiena," "The Tale of the Nine-Tailed," "Undercover," "A Superior Day," "Suriname," the "Casino" series, "This Love is Unpreventable," and "The Tale of Lady Ok" among others.
Notably, Song Young-kyu was a close friend of actor Ryu Seung-ryong, as they attended school together from high school to university. He gained recognition for his role as the head of the violent crimes unit in the film "Extreme Job," which surpassed ten million viewers.
In addition, he met audiences through films such as "Going to the End," "Half," "Trick," "Pandora," "VIP," "Extreme Job," "French Woman," "Baseball Girl," "The Seeker," "Gangneung," "Chang-ae: Trap for Beast," "Killing Talk," "3.5 Class," "Air Murder," "Where Do You Want to Go?," "Land of Happiness," and "Desperate Pursuit."
His passion for the stage remained undiminished. He participated in musicals such as "Kando Arirang," "Jesus Christ Superstar," "Victor Choi," "Han," "Les Misérables," "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "An Jung-geun," "Porgy and Bess," "The Little Prince," "Carmen Cita," "Shilla's Moonlit Night," "Tommy," "Uncle Vanya," "Sim Cheong," "Lithuania," "Othello and Iago," "The Lady," "Jekyll and Hyde," "Singing in the Rain," and "The Beauty and the Beast." Moreover, he took to the stage in plays such as "Land," "Samuel Beckett's Play," and "The Seagull," with his recent work being the play "Shakespeare in Love," which opened on the 5th of last month.
Diverse fellow entertainers paid tribute to the late actor during his passing. Among them, Jo Woo-jin, Choi Won-young, Lee Kyu-hyung, Song Il-kook, and Jung Sung-il, along with singer DJ DOC's Kim Chang-yeol, and the couple Lee Jang-woo and Park Dae-hee sent flowers of condolence, stating, "We sincerely wish for the repose of the deceased." Additionally, film director Yoon Young-bin and various management representatives, along with staff from movie production companies, also sent flowers of condolence to share in the final moments.
In related news, criticisms arose surrounding the late actor's final actions due to drunk driving. On the night of June 19, Song Young-kyu was arrested by the police after driving over 5 kilometers while intoxicated in an undisclosed location in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. The police were notified by a witness's report, and during the inspection conducted at the scene, it was revealed that his blood alcohol concentration reached a level that would lead to license revocation (above 0.08%).
The incident became widely known about a month later, on the 25th of last month. At that time, Song Young-kyu had just completed filming a small amount in the pre-produced drama "The Defects" and "Try" and was also about to perform in "Shakespeare in Love" on the same day. The drama production team decided to edit Song Young-kyu's scenes so that they would not affect the flow of the work, while he withdrew from the stage of the play on the day the incident became public.
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[Photo] OSEN DB, from tvN, provided by SBS-Shownote.
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