In the early hours of March 19 (Thurs) the South Korean actor Lee Yi-kyung helped save a man from committing suicide.
While the K-drama actor, who is best known for his role in Descendants of the Sun, is used to playing roles on television, what unfolded right before his eyes was far from acting. Mr Kyung was driving on the Hannam Bridge in Seoul when an intoxicated individual attempted to take his own life by walking in front of a moving truck.
Thankfully, the truck driver was able to stop before hitting the drunk man, but the man was undeterred and tried to continue with his mission to kill himself by walking in front of the next few vehicles that were moving along on the bridge. The truck driver got down from his vehicle so that he could try and stop the man from attempting to end his life.
31-year old Lee had been driving right behind the truck that stopped. He decided to stop as well, getting out of his car in order to help.
A witness along the bridge who was watching the entire scene shared with reporters, “Lee Yi-kyung held on to the drunken man tightly for a long time and prevented him from jumping into the street and river. Everyone was flustered and scared, so they couldn’t get out of their cars, but he got out of the car without hesitation.”
The witness continued, “He also gave his coat to the drunken man who was shivering and held onto the person to make sure (suicide) attempts were made. His courage saved someone’s life.”
Another witness shared a similar story, saying, “Everyone watching the situation was flustered and scared so they didn’t leave their cars, but Lee Yi Kyung didn’t hesitate and got out to help. He took off his coat and gave it to the man who was shivering from the cold, and held on to him so he wouldn’t make another attempt on his life. Lee Yi Kyung’s courage saved a life.”
Of course, as soon as the news broke, people wanted to know if the story was true. His agency, HB Entertainment, was able to release a statement about the events. Their statement read, “After checking with Lee Yi-kyung, he confirmed that the report is true.”
It continued, “He said that he ran out of the car without thinking because it happened right in front of him. He only did what had to be done, so he didn’t feel that a story had to be made out of it.”
Aside from Descendants of the Sun, Lee Yi Kyung is best known for his work in Baby Beside Me, Pirates, Go Back Couple and the most recent Hotel Del Luna. /TISG