Kim Sung-min (Korean: 김성민, February 14, 1973June 26, 2016) was a South Korean actor.

Career

Kim made his acting debut in 1995, as a member of the theatre troupe Constellation (). In 2002, he rose to stardom in the hit

television drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms t ...

Miss Mermaid ''Miss Mermaid'' () is a South Korean television series starring Jang Seo-hee and Kim Sung-taek. It aired on MBC from June 24, 2002 to June 27, 2003 on Mondays to Fridays at 20:20 for 246 episodes. ''Miss Mermaid'' became a nationwide hit upon ...

''. ''Miss Mermaid'' screenwriter

Im Sung-han Im Sung-han (born Im Young-ran on August 24, 1960) is a South Korean television screenwriter. Her best-known dramas include ''Miss Mermaid'' and ''Dear Heaven''. Career Im Sung-han began her career writing for single-episode anthologies. Her fir ...

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 A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...

"Sung-taek," so to further build his Korean Wave profile, Kim adopted the

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

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 ''Couple or Trouble'' (; lit. ''Fantasy Couple'') is a 2006 South Korean television series loosely based on the 1987 Hollywood film '' Overboard''. Starring Han Ye-seul and Oh Ji-ho, it aired on MBC from October 14 to December 3, 2006 on Saturd ...

'' (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 A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...

, ''

The Reputable Family ''The Reputable Family'' (; lit. "Noble Household") is a 2010 South Korean television series starring Cha In-pyo, Han Go-eun, Kim Sung-min, and Lee Hee-do. It aired on KBS1 from January 1 to February 21, 2010, on Saturdays and Sundays at 21:40 fo ...

'' (2010). He also appeared in the popular variety-

reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

Qualifications of Men ''Qualifications of Men'' (, ) was a Korean reality-variety show that aired on KBS2 from March 29, 2009 to April 7, 2013 as one of two segments in ''Happy Sunday''. Subtitled "101 Things a Man Must Do Before He Dies," the show involved a group of ...

'', and during its run was selected as a guest by the

United States Air Force Thunderbirds The USAF Air Demonstration Squadron ("Thunderbirds") is the air demonstration squadron of the United States Air Force The Thunderbirds are assigned to the 57th Wing, and are based at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. Created in 1953, the USAF Th ...

on their 2009 Far East Tour at

Osan Air Base Hanja:) , partof = , location = , nearest_town = Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province , country = South Korea , image = Osan Air Base 51 FW F-16 A-10 Flyby.jpg , alt = US Air Force F-16C Fighting Falcon and A-1 ...

. 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 Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamph ...

and

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

, and

smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

the former substance into Korea. On January 24, 2011, the Seoul High Court sentenced him to four years in prison; upon Kim's

appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...

, the jail term was reduced to 30 months suspended for four years, along with two years of

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...

, 120 hours of

community service Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community without any form of compensation. Community service can be distinct from volunteering, since it is not always performed ...

, 40 hours of substance abuse education, and a fine. Kim was released from a prison in

Uiwang Uiwang () is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It is one of many satellite cities that ring Seoul, making up the Seoul Capital Area. Its largest immediate urban neighbor is Anyang. The low peaks of the Gwangju Mountains (including Moraks ...

Gyeonggi Province Gyeonggi-do (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, ''Gyeonggi'', means "京 (the capital) and 畿 (the surrounding area)". Thus, ''Gyeonggi-do'' can be translated as "Seoul and the surrounding areas of Seoul". Seoul, the na ...

on March 25, 2011. Because of this, he was dropped from ''Qualifications of Men'' and went on a hiatus. After laying low for two years, Kim made his acting comeback in ''

Can We Get Married? ''Can We Get Married?'' () is a 2012 South Korean television series starring Sung Joon, Jung So-min, Lee Mi-sook, Han Groo, and Kim Young-kwang. It aired on JTBC from October 29, 2012 to January 1, 2013 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 23:00 ( KST) tim ...

'' in 2012. Due to the conservatism of Korean network television, he has so far appeared solely in cable dramas, including ''

Can't Stand Anymore ''Can't Stand Anymore'' () is a 2013–14 South Korean television series starring Baek Il-seob, Sunwoo Yong-nyeo, Lee Young-eun and Kim Jin-woo. It aired on JTBC's Monday–Friday time slot from August 5, 2013 to January 9, 2014. Synopsis The ...

'' (2013), and ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight f ...

'' (2014) for which he trained in martial arts, horseback riding and the

Manchu language Manchu (Manchu:, ) is a critically endangered East Asian Tungusic language native to the historical region of Manchuria in Northeast China. As the traditional native language of the Manchus, it was one of the official languages of the Qing dyn ...

for his role as a

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

general. On March 11, 2015, Kim was again arrested for purchasing and ingesting methamphetamine. He allegedly bought 0.8 grams on November 24, 2014, from a dealer who had smuggled the drug from Cambodia. During police questioning, Kim claimed that he only used the drug once, and that his relapse had been caused by troubles in his marriage and a slump in his acting career. For illegal drug use and violating his probation, Kim was sentenced to 10 months in prison and a () fine.

Personal life

Kim married dentist Lee Han-na on February 20, 2013. Lee is the head of a Gangnam dental clinic and has frequently appeared on television to give dental health advice.

Death

On 24 June 2016, Kim Sung Min's wife called police to check on her husband, saying that he had threatened to kill himself following an argument. Police found him attempting to commit suicide by hanging in the bathroom. On 26 June, the police stated Kim Sung Min, who had been in a coma since 24 June, was diagnosed as brain dead at 2AM KST. The diagnosis was confirmed at 10:15 AM KST, and Kim Sung Min's family agreed to donate his organs. The police will have to sign off on the organ donation and a transplant could occur in the afternoon.

Filmography

Television series

Film

Variety show

Theater

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Kim Sung-min
at Lobe Entertainment
Kim Sung-min Fan Cafe
at Daum * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Sung-min 1973 births 2016 suicides South Korean male television actors South Korean male film actors South Korean male musical theatre actors South Korean male stage actors Suicides by hanging in South Korea Seoul National University alumni Male actors from Seoul 2016 deaths