EBN- The 24-year-old Netflix star died by suicide, according to multiple outlets including The New York Times, The Korea Times and Yonhap News Agency, citing law enforcement.
“We believe she made an extreme choice and plan to handle it as a suicide,” police told reporters, according to the latter outlet.
The Korean National Police did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Monday, Feb. 17.
Kim was found dead in her home in Seongsu-dong, a neighborhood in eastern Seoul, South Korea, just before 5 p.m. local time on Sunday, Feb. 16, Yonhap reported, citing authorities.
Known for her childhood roles, Kim made her acting debut at age 9 playing an orphan called Jinhee in the 2009 drama A Brand New Life, which earned her international acclaim.
She followed it up with another memorable performance in the action-thriller The Man from Nowhere, which cemented her as a rising star.
Some of the late actress’ other memorable roles include The Neighbor (2012), A Girl at My Door (2014) and the drama series Mirror of the Witch, which first aired for 20 episodes starting in 2016.
Kim then stepped away from her acting career after she was caught driving under the influence of alcohol in May 2022, according to Yonhap.
The star crashed her car into a guardrail, trees and a transformer during the incident in southern Seoul, causing a temporary power outage in the area, the agency said. She was later fined a sum equaling about $15,000 for the incident in April 2023.
