Veteran South Korean actor and voice artist Lee Joo-shil has died at the age of 80, according to South Korean media reports. Lee’s agency, 1230 Culture, reported that she had been battling stomach cancer for three months before passing away.
According to the reports, Lee Joo-shil died at approximately 10:20 AM KST at the home of her second daughter in Uijeongbu-si, Seoul. Her body has been transferred to Severance Hospital in Sinchon, Seoul, where fans and mourners can pay their respects starting February 4. A funeral service is set to take place on the morning of February 5.
This was not Lee Joo-shil’s first battle with cancer. At the age of 50, she was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer but successfully overcame it.
Lee Joo-shil was widely recognized for her role as Park Mal Soon in Squid Game 2, where she portrayed the mother of Hwang Jun Ho (Wi Ha Joon) and Lee Byung Hun (Front Man). Beyond Squid Game 2, Lee had an extensive career spanning decades, featuring in films and dramas such as Notebook From My Mother (2017), Clown of a Salesman (2015), The Uninvited Hommage (2003), Commitment (2013), and The City of Violence (2006), among others.