Kim Ki-Duk, who has been celebrated as an ace director, is now the latest victim of the COVID-19 viral infection as the South Korean Filmmaker has passed away on Friday at the age of 59 due to the COVID-19 complications.

He was receiving treatments in Latvia and according to reports, the director has breathed his last at the Latvian hospital, where he was getting treated for the novel coronavirus. His demise was confirmed by Vitaly Mansky, who is a Russian documentary filmmaker who lives in Latvia. The quinquagenarian was understood to have traveled to one of the Baltic states with the intention of buying a house with the view of obtaining a residency permit. 

He was one of the influential filmmakers from the east amid the dominance of the western world and being known for his legendary works, he was on the pinnacle across the world. Born in Bonghwa, South Korea in 1960, Kim-Ki-Duk had established himself as a director of high-end, often dark, and controversial arthouse cinema that made waves on the international festival circuit. He made his debut in 1996 through 'Crocodile', which got massive reception in Korea and was screened at European festivals. 

His family was in South Korea and it has confirmed to multiple Korean media that the news was correct and they had received a call on the day. The reports say that Kim had arrived in Latvia in the middle of last month and he reportedly lived there with the help of film industry figures in Latvia. However, he had recently tested positive for the COVID-19 viral infection and was hospitalized in the European country.

However, his treatment was unsuccessful and he had breathed his last on Friday which had shocked his global fans. Kim is the only South Korean director to win all three major European film festivals - Cannes, Venice, and Berlin. One of his movies 'The Isle' which was released in 2000 had gained notoriety for its gruesome violence and dark content and the movie had got a poor reception in Korea but caused a stir internationally. 

The Isle was screened at Venice where it reportedly caused some audience to vomit or faint and though the movie didn't receive certification in the UK due to the nature of its content, it went on to screen at Toronto and received international distribution. His 2003 film 'Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring' had given him larger attention and the movie was about a Buddhist monastery that floats on a lake in a pristine forest. The movie had received decent reviews and Sony Pictures Classics had released the movie in the United States.

His 2004 film 'Samaritan Girl' was premiered at the Berlinale and won a Silver Bear, while in the same year the director's '3-Iron' won a Silver Lion at Venice. The deceased filmmaker had flagged his success in Cannes and he screened 'Breath' in competition in 2007 and then winning the Un Certain Regard Award with 'Arirang' in 2011. In a career spanning over two decades, Kim had directed around 25 movies and earned huge recognition for his arthouse films. 

On the other hand, the award-winning director has shunned public appearances in Korea since he was accused of sexually assaulting actresses in 2017. The accusation against him was made when the #MeToo movement was on the rise across the world. However, a police case against him was dropped in 2018 and a Korean court partially dismissed a sexual assault charge against Kim. 

Kim Ki-Duk's most recent release was the Russian-language movie 'Dissolve' which debuted at Cannes in 2019. In his career, Kim has bagged some of the prominent international awards including Silver Bear, Silver Lion, Un Certain Regard Prize, Award for Future Movies, Golden Lion, and The Venice Days Best Film Award.