Actor Park Yong-sik dies at 67

South Korean actor, Park Yong-sik, well-known for his uncanny resemblance to former president Chun Doo-hwan, died Friday at the age of 67.

Park’s acquaintance told local media that he passed away at 7 a.m. while receiving treatment at Kyung Hee University Medical Center for sepsis-like symptoms. He fell ill after spending 20 days in Cambodia for a movie shoot.

Park’s funeral will be held at Samsung Medical Center in Ilwon-dong, southern Seoul, and his coffin will be borne out Tuesday.

Park debuted in 1967 as a TV actor for the now defunct Tongyang Broadcasting Company. He is best known for his portrayal of Chun Doo-hwan in several TV dramas including “The Third Republic,” and “The Fourth Republic,” on Munhwa Broadcasting Corp. in the 1990s.

In the 1980s, however, being the former strongman’s lookalike took a toll on Park’s career after Chun’s junta government took power in a military coup in 1979.

Park told TV Chosun in June that local broadcasters banned his appearance for nearly the whole decade because he looked too much like the dictator. The resulting financial difficulties caused him to hate Chun “enough to kill him,” he said, adding he once sought the former president out in spite.

Park said that Chun had apologized to him numerous times after he stepped down from the presidency.



By Yoon Min-sik

(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)