From the start of 2026, the entertainment industry is in a somber mood. After the death notices of senior voice actor Song Do-soon and the "original stuntman" Kim Young-in were reported, "national actor" Ahn Seong-gi died six days after being admitted to the intensive care unit.
Ahn Seong-gi died at 9 a.m. on the 5th while receiving treatment in the intensive care unit at Soonchunhyang University Hospital in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, with his family at his side. He was 74.
The funeral will be held as a film-industry funeral under the auspices of the Shin Young-kyun Arts and Culture Foundation and The Korea Film Actors Association. Honorary chairmen are Shin Young-kyun and director Bae Chang-ho; The Korea Film Actors Association chairman Lee Gab-seong; acting head of the Shin Young-kyun Arts and Culture Foundation Shin Eon-sik; and Korea Filmmakers Association chairman Yang Yun-ho, who along with three others served as co-chairmen of the funeral committee. Actors Lee Jung-jae, Jung Woosung and other film figures will carry the casket as they send the deceased off on his final path.
Ahn Seong-gi made his first foray into film as a child actor in director Kim Ki-young's 1957 film "Hwanhon Train" and temporarily left the film world for military service before returning as an adult actor in 1977 through "Soldiers and the Ladies." He later appeared in films such as "A Zoo Next to the Museum," "No Mercy for the Rude," "Chwi-hwa-seon," "Silmido," "Arahan: The Wind of the Dragon," "Korean Peninsula," "Radio Star," "Shin Gi-jeon," "Splendid Holiday," and "Broken Arrow."
Diagnosed with a blood cancer in 2019, Ahn Seong-gi underwent chemotherapy and was declared cured in 2020, but a recurrence was confirmed six months later during a routine checkup and he underwent treatment again. On the 30th of last month he was transferred to the hospital in cardiac arrest and had been receiving treatment but ultimately did not recover and died.
Ahn Seong-gi's death plunged the entertainment industry into an even deeper gloom. Voice actor Song Do-soon died on the 31st of last month, and on the 4th the veteran actor Choi Young-in passed away.
Song Do-soon, who died at the age of 76, was born in 1949 and began voice acting in 1967 after joining the TBC Voice Acting Troupe as part of its third class. After the 1980 media consolidation he continued his work with the KBS Voice Acting Troupe as part of its ninth class, and he was active as the voice of Cruella de Vil in the animation "101 Dalmatians" and as a narrator for MBC's "Tom and Jerry."
Kim Young-in, who died at the age of 82, earned the nickname "flying actor" by performing the action scenes for the protagonists in director Kim Ki-deok's 1961 film "Five Marines," leaving a strong impression as the original stuntman. He also appeared in films such as "The Royal Command," "The True Record of Kim Doo-han," "The Camellia Gentleman," "Without Blood or Tears," "Arahan: The Wind of the Dragon," "Fist of Legend," and "Tajima and Lee: Villain, Take the Express Train to Hell," and in dramas including "No Wind Zone," "Im Kkeok-jeong," "Tears of the Dragon," "The King and the Queen," "Taejo Wang Geon," "Women of the Palace," "Shin Don," "Kim Sooro," and "Korea political biographies." In recognition of these contributions, he received the special acting award at the 43rd Daejong Film Awards in 2006.
Meanwhile, Ahn Seong-gi's wake will be held in funeral room 31 at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital. The funeral procession will be at 6 a.m. on the 9th, and the burial site is Yangpyeong Byeolgeurida.
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