South Korean actress Kim Sae-ron’s tragic demise as the age of 24 sent shockwaves around the world.
On Tuesday, authorities confirmed the cause of death as suicide, as reported by multiple news outlets, including The Korea Times, and Yonhap News Agency. “We believe she made an extreme choice and plan to handle it as a suicide,” a police official told reporters, as per Yonhap News Agency.
Kim was found dead in her home in Seongsu-dong, eastern Seoul, on Sunday, February 16, just before 5 pm. A friend who had plans to meet her discovered her body and reported it to the authorities. When news broke about her sudden demise, Police confirmed that there were no signs of foul play and that an investigation into the circumstances of her death was ongoing.Kim Sae-ron rose to fame as a child actress, making her debut at just nine years old in the critically acclaimed 2009 drama ‘A Brand New Life’. She gained recognition with her role in ‘The Man from Nowhere’ (2010), and went on to star in other notable works that included ‘The Neighbor’ (2012), ‘A Girl at My Door’ (2014), and the historical drama ‘Mirror of the Witch’ (2016).
However, her career faced a major setback in May 2022 when she was caught driving under the influence in Seoul. The incident caused a temporary power outage and led to a fine of approximately 20 million won (USD 13,800) for driving under the influence. At the time she had issued an apology on her Instagram account, saying “there is no excuse for this distasteful incident.”
Following the incident, Kim left her role in the drama Trolley and she opted not to renew her contract with her agency Goldmedalist later that year, as per Deadline.
Kim attempted to return to the entertainment industry through a play, Dongchimi, but withdrew amid public backlash. Her acting hiatus officially ended with a role in Netflix’s action series ‘Bloodhounds’, which released in June 2023. However, much of her screen time was reportedly edited out following the controversy surrounding her DUI case.
‘Bloodhounds’ ultimately became her final project.
