Netflix Actor Found Dead at 55: RIP to Song Young-kyu

South Korean actor Song Young-kyu has died. He was 55.

His body was found by an acquaintance in a parked car around 8 a.m. local time. No signs of foul play were discovered by police.

Earlier this June, he was pulled over for a drunk driving incident, where he drove five kilometers with a blood alcohol content high enough to get his license immediately revoked under South Korean laws.

Due to the incident, he was removed from two TV dramas—ENA’s The Defects, where he played a corrupt pastor, and SBS’s The Winning Try, where he played a rugby coach—and a stage production of Shakespeare in Love.

Song is best-known internationally for his memorable role as Chief Choi in the 2019 box-office smash Extreme Job, and for his appearances in Netflix’s Narco-Saints and Disney+’s Big Bet.

In South Korea, he is one of the nation’s most popular character actors, known for his strong gravitas and dry sense of humor. His death adds another point of reference to the growing conversation around the country’s rabid tabloid frenzies and negative stigma of discussing mental health.

Song is survived by his wife and his two daughters.