Veteran South Korean actor Lee Joo-Sil, best known for playing Park Mal Soon in the second season of Netflix's Squid Game, passed away at the age of 81 after battling stomach cancer. According to reports, Lee suffered from cardiac arrest at her family home on the morning of February 2 and was pronounced dead after being transferred to St Mary's Hospital in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi. 

Lee Joo-Sil’s cancer battle

In Squid Game 2, Lee Joo-Sil played the mother of undercover detective Hwang Joon-Ho (Wi Ha Joon) and the stepmother of Hwang In Ho (Lee Byang Hun) aka the Front Man. Lee was previously diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer in her fifties and she was given a life expectancy of one year. However, in July 2023, she shared that she spent 13 years being treated for the disease and that it had ultimately been successful, as per People.