South Korean actress and former child star Kim Sae-ron was found dead Sunday at her home in the capital city of Seoul, police said. She was 24.
Investigators said there were no immediate signs of foul play at the scene, Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported. Cops said they were still investigating Kim’s cause of death.
A friend who had plans to meet Kim arrived at her home and found her body, according to Yonhap. The friend called police around 5 p.m. Sunday.
Kim burst onto the international film scene at age 9, when she starred in “A Brand New Life,” which was screened at the Cannes Film Festival. Kim attended the festival and was one of the youngest people at the event.
Kim Sae-ron is pictured at the Cannes Film Festival in 2009 (left) and in 2014 (right). Kim was found dead Sunday at her home in Seoul. (Getty)
Her career continued to move ahead for the next decade, as she delivered notable film performances in 2010’s “The Man From Nowhere,” 2012’s “The Neighbor” and 2014’s “A Girl At My Door.”
Kim was also a television star, appearing in the Korean dramas “The Queen’s Classroom” and “Hi! School: Love On.”
But Kim’s career went sideways in 2022, when she crashed her car while driving drunk in Seoul. Though no one else was injured in the one-car wreck, Kim was heavily criticized in the Korean press and functionally paused her acting career. She eventually paid a fine of approximately $14,000.
Her appearance in a 2023 Netflix show, “Bloodhounds,” was reportedly edited down after the wreck. “Bloodhounds” was also Kim’s last on-screen appearance before her death.