Violence in prisons and cities has gripped the country in fear. The military has been ordered to take on the powerful gangs believed to be behind the attacks.
Since the gang leader went missing, the country has experienced prison riots and kidnappings, and the president declared a nationwide state of emergency.
ValTown, an account on X and other social media platforms, spotlights gangs and drug kingpins of the 1980s and 1990s — and how crime and celebrity often intersect.
The actor, Lee Sun-kyun, had been questioned on suspicion of drug use in a country that has long drawn a hard line against anything other than total abstinence.