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Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Lee Joo-sil, the South Korean actor who played Hwang Jun-ho’s mother in Squid Game Season 2, died at 81 on February 2, 2025. Her agency told Yonhap News Agency that she died of stomach cancer after being diagnosed about three months earlier.
What happened to Lee Joo-sil?
Yonhap reported on February 2, 2025, that an agency representative said Lee had died of stomach cancer that morning. The representative said she had received the diagnosis about three months earlier. Those medical details are attributed to her agency as reported by Yonhap; no clinical records or further details of her treatment for this illness were provided in the cited reports.
Lee was 81. She had previously faced another cancer diagnosis: Yonhap reported that she was diagnosed with stage-three breast cancer in 1993 and was declared recovered after treatment lasting roughly a decade.
Lee Joo-sil’s role in Squid Game
In Season 2 of Netflix’s Squid Game, Lee played the mother of Hwang Jun-ho, the former police officer portrayed by Wi Ha-jun. It was a supporting role in that season.
A career that began on stage
Lee began her career as a theater actor in 1965. Yonhap cited stage productions including Death of a Salesman and Macbeth, and reported that she later worked in television and film. Her screen credits included the films Roaring Currents (2014) and Train to Busan (2016), as well as the series The Uncanny Counter, according to the Korea JoongAng Daily.
Korea JoongAng Daily reported that Lee received a doctorate in public health from Wonkwang University in 2010.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.When did Lee Joo-sil die?
The best-supported date is February 2, 2025: Yonhap’s English and Korean reports published that day relay an agency representative’s account that Lee died that morning. The Korea Times also reported February 2, citing Yonhap.
CNA Lifestyle gives a different date, January 27, 2025. The available accounts do not explain the discrepancy. Because Yonhap’s contemporaneous report conveys the agency’s statement about her death that morning, February 2 is the date supported by that direct account.
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