Kim Sung-min | |
---|---|
Born |
김성민 Kim Sung-taek February 14, 1973 Seoul, South Korea |
Died | June 26, 2016 Seoul, South Korea |
(aged 43)
Cause of death | Suicide |
Education |
Seoul National University Seoul College - Physical and Social Education in Golf |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1995–2014 |
Agent | Lobe Entertainment |
Spouse(s) | Lee Han-na (m. 2013 - 2016) |
Korean name | |
Hangul | 김성민 |
Revised Romanization | Gim Seong-min |
McCune–Reischauer | Kim Sŏng-min |
Birth name | |
Hangul | 김성택 |
Revised Romanization | Gim Seong-taek |
McCune–Reischauer | Kim Sŏng-taek |
Kim Sung-min (Korean: 김성민, February 14, 1973 – June 26, 2016) was a South Korean actor.
Kim made his acting debut in 1995, as a member of the theatre troupe Constellation (Hangul: 성좌). In 2002, he rose to stardom in the hit television drama Miss Mermaid. Miss Mermaid screenwriter Im Sung-han cast him again in her next drama, Lotus Flower Fairy (also known as Heaven's Fate, 2004). But when Miss Mermaid was exported to Taiwan and the Philippines, foreign viewers had difficulty pronouncing his given name "Sung-taek," so to further build his Korean Wave profile, Kim adopted the stage name Kim Sung-min in 2005. He then starred in leading roles in Single Again and Tears of Diamond.
Comic supporting roles followed in Couple or Trouble (2006) where he played a selfish yet hapless husband to an heiress, and Family's Honor (2008) where he played a playboy twin brother who has an unlikely romance with a tomboyish policewoman. Then Kim surprised audiences by portraying a darker character, an adulterous husband in What's for Dinner? (2009), followed by his first period drama, The Reputable Family (2010). He also appeared in the popular variety-reality show Qualifications of Men, and during its run was selected as a guest by the United States Air Force Thunderbirds on their 2009 Far East Tour at Osan Air Base.
On December 4, 2010, Kim was arrested in a drug scandal which also implicated other celebrities. During police questioning, he admitted to habitually using methamphetamine and marijuana, and smuggling the former substance into Korea. On January 24, 2011, the Seoul High Court sentenced him to four years in prison; upon Kim's appeal, the jail term was reduced to 30 months suspended for four years, along with two years of probation, 120 hours of community service, 40 hours of substance abuse education, and a ₩904,500 fine. Kim was released from a prison in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province on March 25, 2011. Because of this, he was dropped from Qualifications of Men and went on a hiatus.