South Korea’s entertainment industry has been thrown into mourning.
Actor Park Dong-bin was found de@d on Wednesday, April 29, leaving behind his wife and three-year-old daughter. He was 56.
His body was discovered inside of his restaurant in Pyeongtaek, which he’d been busy preparing to open.
According to The Korea Times, the star’s body was found by an acquaintance who had been helping him with the new business.
Officials from the Pyeongtaek Police Station said that there were no immediate signs of foul play, and no suicide note was found.
Investigations into the exact cause of de@th are still ongoing.
Park leaves behind his wife of six years, Lee Sang-yi, and their three-year-old daughter Jiyu, who has been battling a serious congenital heart disease since she was born.
During an emotional 2024 interview on the Korean therapy program Oh Eun-young’s Golden Counseling Center, Park opened up about his daughter’s health issues.
‘She has left heart hypoplastic syndrome, where the left ventricle and aorta are underdeveloped. Without a heart transplant or surgeries, she could die,’ he said at the time.
Jiyu underwent her first surgery just four days after she was born and later had two more surgeries.
In the same interview, Park also admitted to feeling self-conscious about being an older father and said that people often mistook him for Jiyu’s grandfather.
‘I’m a 54-year-old father, and I’m worried about whether I can take responsibility for my family until the end,’ he said, according to Star News Korea.
Park’s wake will be held at Domin Funeral Hall in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province on Friday.
His remains will pass through the Yongin Forest of Peace before being buried at Woosung Memoria