Actor Song Young Kyu Is Dead at Age 55 — Here's What We Know About His Cause of Death

Korean actor Song Young Kyu, best known for his role in the 2019 film Extreme Job, is dead at age 55. He worked consistently since his 1994 debut in the children's musical Wizard Mureul. Although he never snagged a starring role, Song Young was an accomplished supporting actor who had memorable parts in Trick, Stove League, Baseball Girl, and Hyena.

Many consider Song Young's turn in Extreme Job as the highlight of his career. In a review of the film, Nick Allen for Robert Ebert described it as a "genuinely crowd-pleasing action-comedy," and is "further proof of the timelessness of the action-comedy." Though Nick didn't mention Song Young, his performance in the movie was a standout part of the film. He would have undoubtedly stepped into another amazing role. Here's what we know about Song Young Kyu's cause of death.

A cause of death has yet to be revealed for Song Kyu, who was found unresponsive inside a parked car in Cheoin-gu, Yongin, south of Seoul, per Variety. Police have confirmed that a suicide note was not found, and there are no signs of foul play. The Korean Updates X account posted an unconfirmed report that the actor's mental state had deteriorated following a DUI arrest in June 2025.

Song Young was pulled over in Yongin when South Korean Police noted he was driving five kilometers with a blood alcohol level that warranted his license being revoked under South Korean law. He was referred to prosecution without detention, which means Song Kyu could have been in jail for up to 10 days while the prosecutor decided whether or not to officially charge him, per Seoul Law Group.

Following his arrest, Song Kyu stepped down from a stage production of Shakespeare in Love and was "removed or minimized" from ENA’s The Defects and SBS’s The Winning Try, two television dramas the actor had roles in. Several people in the comments of the Korean Updates X post chastised Korean media and commenters, alleging they bullied Song Kyu after news of his DUI arrest broke. "Please always consider people's mental health before you make any comments," wrote one person.