Ahn Sung-ki during his time as a coffee advertisement model (2015). [Photo=Dong Suh Coffee]

Actor Ahn Sung-ki passed away on the 5th at the age of 74.

Ahn Sung-ki passed away at 7 a.m. this morning in the intensive care unit of Soon Chun Hyang University Hospital in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, with his family by his side. This is six days after he was admitted to the ICU in a comatose state, having collapsed at his home on the 30th of last month with food lodged in his throat.

He had promised to make a full recovery and return to acting, but sadly could not fulfill it. His final works include the films 'Cassiopeia', 'Hansan: Rising Dragon', 'The Birth', and 'Noryang: Deadly Sea' (special appearance); all four were filmed while he was undergoing cancer treatment.

He began his acting career as a child actor at the age of six and emerged as an adult actor in the 1980s, leaving behind representative works such as △A Good Day for the Rain (1980) △Mandalara (1981) △Whale Hunting (1984) △Deep and Blue Night (1985).

He went on to lead the golden age of Korean cinema, contributing films like △White War (1992) △Two Cops (1993) △Nowhere to Hide (1999) △Silmido (2003) △Radio Star (2006), and later appeared in movies such as Unbowed (2012) and Revivre (2015).

Over his 69-year acting career, he appeared in approximately 170 films. It is no exaggeration to say that Ahn Sung-ki himself is a 'history of Korean cinema'.

He was offered the position of Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism during the Kim Dae-jung administration but declined. He was also offered proportional representation nominations for the National Assembly several times thereafter, but he turned them all down, stating, "I will remain faithful only to my path as an actor." It is also known that he repeatedly distanced himself by saying, "Politics is not a field that suits me."

However, he earned the trust of the public through his efforts to protect the rights and interests of the film industry, such as the campaign to defend the screen quota, and by fulfilling his social responsibilities as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

Reporter Lim Yo-hee