South Korean actor Kim Sae-ron arrives at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 5, 2023. (Yonhap via AP)2025-02-18T06:03:17Z SEOUL, South Korea (AP) South Korean actor Kim Sae-rons death this week has triggered an outpouring of grief and calls for changes to the way the countrys celebrities are treated in the public arena and on social media, which critics say can foster a culture of harassment. The 24-year-old, who began her career as a child actor and earned acclaim for her roles in several domestic films, including the 2010 crime noir The Man from Nowhere, was found dead by a friend at her home in the countrys capital, Seoul, on Sunday. The National Police Agency has said that officers are not suspecting foul play and that Kim left no note. Once among the brightest stars on South Koreas vibrant movie and television scene, Kim struggled to find work after a 2022 drunk driving incident, for which she was later fined in court.Online posts in South Korea are notoriously harsh toward celebrities who make missteps, especially women, and Kim faced constant negative coverage from news organizations that capitalized on public sentiment. Newspapers and websites criticized her whenever she was seen partying with friends, or when she complained about her lack of work and nasty comments on social media. She was even criticized for smiling while filming an independent movie last year. Following Kims death, several of the countrys major newspapers on Tuesday published editorials and opinion pieces lambasting the toxic online comments about the actor. Some invoked the 2019 deaths of K-Pop singers Seol-li and Goo Hara and the 2023 death of Squid Games actor Lee Sun-kyun while calling for a change in the harsh, zero-tolerance culture toward celebrities. The Hankook Ilbo newspaper said the countrys media outlets were part of the problem, lamenting that some outlets continued to exploit Kim for clicks even after her death, using provocative headlines that highlighted her past struggles. The watchdog Citizens Coalition for Democratic Media on Tuesday criticized news organizations for blaming social media without considering their own sensational and provocative reporting.Born in 2000, Kim began her acting career at age 9, with the 2009 film A Brand New Life, portraying a girls struggles to adjust to a new life after being left at an orphanage by her father. She rose to stardom with The Man from Nowhere, which was one of the biggest hits in the South Korean movie scene that year and won her a domestic acting award. She starred in various movies and TV shows before the 2022 drunk driving incident. Gold Medalist, Kims former management agency, did not immediately answer calls for comment. KIM TONG-HYUNG Kim has been covering the Koreas for the AP since 2014. He has published widely read stories on North Koreas nuclear ambitions, the dark side of South Koreas economic rise and international adoptions of Korean children. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site