According to local media, the production company in charge of shooting the show sought to fire him after police said they may have needed a sample of his hair for drug testing.
Lee insisted he had not knowingly taken illegal drugs, and passed toxicology tests – and was demanding a lie detector test at the time of his death, to assess whether he or the hostess, known only as “A”, was telling the truth.
He claimed she was trying to blackmail him, and had filed a criminal case.
Dad-of-two Lee told reporters after his first questioning on October 28 at the Nonhyeon Police Station in Incheon: “I would like to sincerely apologise once again for causing so many people concerns.
“I will answer all questions truthfully. ‘A’ tricked me into doing drugs. I did not know that what she handed me were illegal drugs.”
South Korea’s strict laws on drug use mean those who sell or buy marijuana face a minimum of one year in prison, while users can be sentenced to up to five years in prison or fined up to nearly $40,000.
Lee was accused of using ketamine, marijuana and psychedelics on multiple occasions.
His December 23 questioning was likely to be his last, police sources told local media, and the session lasted 19 hours, with Lee leaving the police station in the early hours of Christmas Eve.
He was discovered three days later, inside of a car near Waryong Park in northern Jongno-gu, Seoul.
In May 2009, after seven years together, Lee married fellow actress Jeon Hye-jin and the couple had two sons.
