South Korean Actress Kim Sae-ron, who had recently gone into hiding after crashing her vehicle while drunk driving, died on Sunday at the age of 24. Her cause of death has been ruled a suicide.
Korean authorities said on Monday that Kim was found dead in her home in the country’s capital of Seoul, and did not leave a note, according to a report by South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency.
“We believe she made an extreme choice and plan to handle it as a suicide,” a Korean police official said.
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Kim — who was born in 2000 and debuted as a child actress in 2009 — soared quickly in popularity with her appearances in films including the 2010 action movie, The Man from Nowhere, the 2012 thriller, The Neighbors, the 2014 crime thriller, A Girl at My Door.
The Korean star’s first film credit was the 2009 drama, A Brand New Life.
The film follows the journey of a young girl grappling with the challenges of adjusting to her new reality after father drops her off at an orphanage, never to return.
But Kim’s acting career took a hit in South Korea following a May 2022 drunk driving accident for which she was fined $13,800, the Korea Herald reported.
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Immediately after the May 2022 drunk driving incident, Kim stepped down from her upcoming role in the television drama, Trolley, and apologized for her behavior, stating she was “deeply reflecting on her wrongdoing,” South China Morning Post reported at the time.
Kim was placed under investigation for the accident, which involved her crashing into a roadside electrical transformer box, resulting in it becoming “uprooted from its original position and its protective enclosure destroyed,” the newspaper noted.
“The incident caused several power outages in the area, including for traffic lights and payment processing systems, which affected local businesses that morning. Repairs took around five hours to complete,” South China Morning Post reported.
The actress’ talent agency, Goldmedalist, then released a statement, declaring, “We sincerely apologize for causing concern with the accident that occurred through our agency’s actress Kim Sae-ron’s drunk driving.”
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Kim’s car accident reportedly resulted in public backlash and intense shame, driving her out of the limelight in South Korea.
Last year, Kim tried to resuscitate her acting career, but ended up removing herself from the public eye once again, citing health issues as her reason for doing so, Yonhap reported.
Kim’s last role was on Netflix’s 2023 drama series, Bloodhounds, with the show being the only acting credit the actress had that year.
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Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
