SEOUL (THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - An autopsy on actor Kim Joo Hyuk who was killed in a car crash on Monday (Oct 30) in Seoul, revealed that he died from a fatal head injury.

Police and the National Forensic Service (NFS) said on Tuesday that the immediate cause of Kim's death was a head injury, serious enough to have instantly killed the actor. They added that there was no evidence of myocardial infarction, commonly known as a heart attack, which was previously reported as a possible cause that led to the car accident. A more detailed autopsy result will be made available after about a week, police said.

On Tuesday morning, Gangnam Police station said that it had asked the NFS to conduct an autopsy on Kim to verify the exact cause of his death. Kim's body was sent to NFS at around 9 am on Tuesday.

Kim, 45, was driving a Mercedes-Benz SUV down Yeongdong Daero when it crashed into a Hyundai Grandeur near an I-Park apartment complex in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul, on Monday at around 4.30 pm.

Kim's car then crashed into the wall of an apartment block and flipped down the stairs. Firefighters extricated Kim from the vehicle at around 5.07pm and took him to Konkuk University Medical Centre. Kim died at the hospital at around 6.30pm. It has been reported that officials from the hospital named myocardial infarction as a major cause of the accident.

While the police still have not found electronic recording devices from either Kim's car or the Grandeur, it said on Tuesday that there have been a number of misunderstandings concerning the accident.

Previously, the driver of the Grandeur had told police that Kim seemed to be in pain, clutching his chest, after the SUV crashed into his car from the rear, adding that the car then swerved into the apartment wall.

But after analysing a footage of the accident recorded by a vehicle behind Kim's car, secured by police on Monday, police said that Kim's car did not ram from the rear but crashed to the right side of the car.

The Grandeur driver later admitted the error of his earlier statement, saying that he was confused at the time of the accident. The Grandeur driver also corrected his statement about Kim clutching his chest in pain, saying that Kim was actually grabbing the steering wheel with his two hands while leaning his chest on it with a pain-stricken face.

Kim's agency Namoo Actors said on Tuesday that Kim's wake will be held at Asan Medical Centre in Songpa-gu, Seoul, from 3 pm on Tuesday, while the funeral will take place on Thursday. Kim will be buried at a family vault in Seosan city in South Chungcheong Province.

Kim straddled both the small and big screens as an actor, becoming best known for leading roles in the TV series Lovers In Prague (2005) and in films such as My Wife Got Married (2008) and Yourself And Yours (2016). The actor was at the height of his career, having won his first film award last Friday for his portrayal of a ruthless North Korean mobster in Kim Sung Hoon's Confidential Assignment (2017).

He had three upcoming movies slated for release next year. Kim had finished shooting his part for the film Dok-jeon, Lee Hae Young's crime action drama that is still in production, reports said. Kim played a China-based drug lord in the film.

Kim also starred in Cho Geun Hyun's Heung-bu, which wrapped up shooting on Aug 18.

Kim had also agreed to star alongside Hyun Bin once more in Kim Sung Hoon's period-slash-zombie flick Rampant (Chang-gweol). Kim had finished one out of his four shoots for the film. Kim had also been in talks to star in Yoo Jae Wook's crime thriller Yeol-dae-ya.