Moonbin, the K-Pop star and member of the Korean boy band Astro, has died this Thursday at the age of 25, as explained by the South Korean Police and confirmed by the young man’s agency, Fantagio, on their social networks. Although the causes of death are still being investigated, the authorities point to a suicide.
According to the Police, Moonbin was found dead in his apartment in southern Seoul by his representative on Wednesday at 8:10 p.m. (1110 GMT) and they believe he may have committed suicide as they found no evidence of a struggle.
“We understand that Moonbin lived alone in his home. Although we believe that he committed suicide, we are also considering performing an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death,” an agent who preferred not to be named told the South Korean news agency Yonhap.
His record company has regretted the news and has asked that “malicious speculation and reports†be stopped: “On the 19th, Moonbin left us and became a star in the sky. It breaks our hearts to have to break this news to his fans who have always loved and supported him.”
The singer debuted in 2016 with Astro, a group in which he was mainly a vocalist and dancer. For the memory of fans and followers there are songs like Crazy Sexy Cool, Baby, Confession or the most recent Candy Sugar Pop, the latter with more than 41 million views on YouTube.
After the news of his death, dozens of followers have created makeshift altars. In the streets of South Korea, some points with flowers and farewell notes have been set up. Others also hung purple and silver balloons, colors that stood out at the singer’s latest performance with Sanha in Thailand.
Moonbin joins a long list of K-Pop celebrities who have not been able to withstand the enormous pressure of fame and the few resources at their disposal to deal with these situations.
Another high-profile case was the suicide of Kim Jong-hyun, former singer of the SHINee group, who shook the foundations of the industry when he took his own life in December 2017 at the age of 27. In 2019, the K-Pop actress and singer known as Sulli committed suicide at the age of 25 after suffering intense cyberbullying campaigns and in the same year, the singer Goo Ha-ra also took her own life, leaving a note saying that he felt “very pessimistic” about his life, after receiving threats from an old partner.
Moonbin’s suicide is a problem that crosses the music industry. South Korea has the highest youth suicide rate of any developed country. Although the country’s overall suicide rate is falling, deaths among 20-somethings are rising, data that is forcing the government to act quickly.
