The Korea Herald

지나쌤

[Breaking] Veteran actor crashed just 'minutes from home'

By Hong Dam-young

Published : Oct. 30, 2017 - 20:10

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Actor Kim Joo-hyuk, 45, died as the result of a car crash Monday afternoon at around 6:30 p.m. in Samseong-dong, Seoul, police said.

Kim’s Mercedes-Benz SUV was driving down Yeongdong Daero when it crashed into Hyundai Grandeur near an I-Park apartment complex in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul. Kim’s car then crashed into the wall of an apartment block and flipped down the stairs.

(Yonhap) (Yonhap)

The Grandeur driver said Kim seemed to be in pain, grabbing his chest, after the SUV crashed into his car from the rear, adding that the car then swerved into the apartment wall. Police confirmed that smoke was coming out of Kim’s car, but there was no fire.

Firefighters extricated Kim from the vehicle at around 5:07 p.m. and took him to Konkuk University Medical Center. Kim died at the hospital at around 6:30 p.m. It has been reported that Kim’s residence in Cheongdam-dong, is only three minutes by car from the site of the accident. Police are investigating the exact cause. 

(Yonhap) (Yonhap)
(Yonhap) (Yonhap)
Kim most recently played a reporter in the miniseries “Argon” in September. The second son of the late actor Kim Mu-saeng, he debuted in 1998 in the SBS drama “Letters Written on a Cloudy Day.” Kim also starred in Hong Sang-soo’s “Yourself and Yours” (2016) and Kim Sung-hoon’s “Confidential Assignment” (2017).   

The actor also gained popularity through the travel reality program “2 Days & 1 Night,” where he once revealed that he had served as a driver during his mandatory military service. 

(Yonhap) (Yonhap)

On Friday, Kim won an award for best supporting actor at the Seoul Awards for his appearance in “Confidential Assignment.”

In December 2016 the actor said that he was in a relationship with actress Lee Yu-young.

Media reports said Lee was shooting SBS’ variety show “Running Man” in Busan at the time of the accident, and the shooting was halted when the news broke.

A representative of Kim’s agency Namoo Actors said it was currently confirming details of the incident.

By Hong Dam-young (lotus@heraldcorp.com)