Actor Lee Sun-kyun appears for 3rd police questioning over drug suspicions

Actor Lee Sun-kyun of the Oscar-winning “Parasite” appeared before the police for the third time for questioning over his alleged drug use Saturday.

Lee arrived at an office of the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency in Incheon, about 30 kilometers west of Seoul, with his lawyer.

Emerging from his car, the 48-year-old actor in a black suit faced reporters and said, “I once again offer my sincerest apologies for the troubles I’ve caused to many people.”

Asked if he admits to the drug charges against him, he briefly answered, “I’ll honestly answer this question during the questioning.”

Lee is suspected of using marijuana and other illegal drugs at the home of a hostess working at a high-end bar in Seoul’s Gangnam district on multiple occasions since early this year.

He was previously questioned twice, on Oct. 28 and Nov. 4, on the same case.

The upcoming questioning is likely to be the final one, as the police currently have no plans to summon him again.

However, they said it could last over 10 hours and extend into the night because they will question him over both the drug case and a related blackmail case.

In October, Lee filed a complaint against the hostess for consistently blackmailing him after news reports surfaced about his alleged drug use.

“With his consent, we can continue questioning him even after dark,” a police official, well-versed in the ongoing probe, said on the condition of anonymity. “It’s possible the questioning will finish late at night.”

In the last questioning, Lee claimed he was tricked by the hostess into taking the drugs, and that he did not know what he was taking.

Lee tested negative in both the brief reagent test conducted during police investigations and the elaborate drug test by the National Forensic Service last month.