Over the years, the world of K-pop has been hit hard by a number of tragic deaths, with TST member Yohan passing away most recently.
The 28-year-old’s cause of death has not been confirmed, however a lot of focus has been put on the industry in the past due to suicides and mental health issues.
Meanwhile, horrific car crashes have taken the lives of a handful of rising stars over the years too.
Of course, sudden deaths in the showbiz world happen everywhere, however particular focus has been put on the K-pop industry after a number of stars died within months of each other last year.
EunB and RiSe of Ladies’ Code, September 2014
EunB of Ladies’ Code died at the age of 21 after a car crash (Image: 1theK (원더케이)/Youtube)
Rising girl group Ladies’ Code were involved in a serious car accident on September 3, 2014, travelling back to South Korean capital Seoul after filming for KBS Open Concert.
Their manager Mr Park had been driving the van, doing 85mph in a 62mph zone for a distance of 19 miles.
Bad conditions on the road made it slippery and Park suddenly lost control of the vehicle, causing it to hydroplane and skid before crashing into a protective wall on the Yeongdong Expressway.
Rapper EunB – real name Go Eun-bi – was declared dead on arrival by the time she arrived at Sungbin Medical Center. She was 21 years old.
Member RiSe – real name Kwon Ri-sae – died four days laster after her condition deteriorated, at the age of 23.
Sojung also suffered serious injuries, however her condition stabilised.
The other members – Ashley and Zuny – Park and a stylist sustained minor injuries.
RiSe of Ladies’ Code a few days later at the age of 23 as her condition deteriorated (Image: 1theK (원더케이)/Youtube)
An investigation confirmed that the cause of the crash was due to speeding.
It was reported that no airbags deployed in the van, witnesses said the van rolled over multiple times, and an ambulance worker said he did “not recall undoing any seat belts” as he tried to help.
In November 2014, Park was arrested and charged for causing a fatal collision under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic accidents.
In January 2015, the group’s manager Park was sentenced to a year and two months in jail on these charges.
In April of the same year, he reached an undisclosed settlement with the families of EunB and RiSe.
Then, a week later, Park lodged a successful appeal and his sentence was reduced to a suspended sentence of one year and two months, for two years, as well as 160 hours of community service and 40 hours of law-abiding driving classes.
Jonghyun of Shinee, December 2017
Jonghyun of Shinee died of possible suicide in December 2017 aged 27 (Image: WireImage)
Jonghyun – real name Kim Jong-hyun – died by possible suicide on December 18, 2017 at the age of 27.
The singer, whose real name was Kim Jong-hyun, had been the main vocalist of the “Princes of K-pop” Shinee for nine years.
In December 2017, he rented an apartment in the Gangnam district of Seoul for two days.
His sister raised concern with emergency responders, as he had sent her a number of messages such as “last goodbye” and “say I did well”.
Jonghyun, who was also a solo artist, was found unconscious by police and taken to hospital in cardiac arrest, and sadly didn’t regain consciousness.
Jonghyun had told friends about his ‘devouring’ depression and struggles with fame (Image: WireImage)
A post-mortem was not carried out at the request of Jonghyun’s family, and police declared his death a possible suicide.
Jonghyun’s death was linked to depression, as his friend Nine9, of Dear Cloud, shared an apparent suicide note he had sent her before his December 9 concert.
It spoke of his “devouring” depression and the struggle he had with fame.
Fans and fellow K-pop idols, including BTS, Girls’ Generation, Exo, IU and BoA, mourned at a three-day public funeral.
Tany, April 2018
Tany died ahed 22 after a tragic car crash (Image: HOM Company)
Rising star Tany, real name Kim Jin-soo, died in a car crash on April 14, 2018 at the age of 22.
The singer, who performed ballads rather than traditional K-pop, died alongside a companion when their car crashed and caught fire.
The duo had been travelling from Janghaeung to Mokpo on the Namhae Expressways at around 2:30am when the crash happened.
The bodies were badly burned and police were not able to identify them straight away.
Tany was known for his debut song Always Remember, which was a tribute to the victims of the April 2015 Sewol ferry sinking.
Sulli of f(x), October 2019
Sulli of girl group f(x) was found dead at the age of 25 (Image: YONHAP/AFP via Getty Images)
Sulli, born Choi Jin-ri, found fame as a member of girl group f(x), which was formed in 2009.
They achieved huge success in South Korea and internationally, becoming the first K-pop group to perform at US festival SXSW.
Sulli also found success as an actress, appearing in a number of television series and films, and as a television host.
On October 14, 2019, Sulli was found dead by her manager after taking her own life in her home, aged 25.
Sulli had been a target of frequent online trolling during her life (Image: WireImage)
Police investigated the death as a suicide after finding no signs of foul play or a break-in.
They also found a note in her diary which spoke of her feelings, however they did not conclude that it was a suicide note.
An autopsy concluded that her death was likely by suicide on the night of October 13 or morning of October 14.
Sulli’s death was linked to depression caused by intense trolling online.
It was revealed that Sulli had repeatedly asked her agency, SM Entertainment, to take strong measures against those trolling her.
Following her death, various legislative proposals were introduced to try and place more responsibility on online commenters, including forcing people to use their real names.
Another act proposed as an amendment to the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utlization and Information Protection called for companies to disclose full names and IP addresses of online trolls.
Furthermore, in October 2019, South Korean internet company Kakao confirmed they were temporarily disabling comments on entertainment news articles.
Hara of Kara, November 2019
Hara, close friend of Sulli, died at the age of 28 in November 2019 (Image: WireImage)
Goo Hara, also known as Hara, found fame as a member of girl group Kara.
She was found dead aged 28 at her home in Gangnam, with the cause of death being ruled as a possible suicide.
Police discovered a suicide note and CCTV footage which confirmed she had returned home at 12:40am and had no further visitors until her housekeeper, who found her body, arrived at 6pm the same day.
An autopsy was not performed by request of her family.
Hara was a close friend of Sulli, who died by suicide just weeks earlier.
Following her death, a petition calling for severe punishments for those filming sexual acts without consent and for distributing it reached more than 200,000 signatures.
Hara had filed a lawsuit against her ex boyfriend, hairdresser Choi Jong-bum, for threatening to release a sex video filmed without her consent to try and end her career.
Hara’s ex-boyfriend had threatened to release a sex video, which caused her to become a victim of cruel trolling (Image: WireImage)
However, in August 2019, he was acquitted of the charge of filming the video without permission, with the court agreeing it had been done with Hara’s consent.
He was also found not guilty of illicit filming because Hara stayed in the relationship.
Choi was given a suspended sentence after he was convicted of threatening to upload the video, coercing, physically assaulting and destroying Hara’s property.
Following the news of the sex video, Hara was harassed on social media – despite being the victim.
She attempted to take her own life in May 2019, and was immediately taken to hospital, where she apologised for worrying her fans.
Cha In-ha, December 2019
Actor Cha In-ha was found dead aged 27 in December 2019 (Image: Instagram)
Not a K-pop singer but an actor under the agency Fantagio, Cha In-ha, born Lee Jae-ho, was part of the acting group Surprise U.
He appeared in a number of television series, including Temperature of Love, Are You Human? and The Banker.
Cha In-ha was found dead in his house by his manager on December 3, 2019, however the cause has not yet been confirmed.
A police spokesman said that the 27-year-old left “no will or final message” and his family requested that no autopsy was carried out.
His agency Fantagio, which looks after the K-pop groups Astro and Weki Meki, urged people not to speculate about his death.
Yohan of TST, June 2020
Yohan, of boy group TST, was found dead aged 28 on June 16 (Image: yohanee0416/Instagram)
Yohan, born Kim Jeong-hwan, was a member of boy group TST, formerly Top Secret, though also had a stint in the group NOM.
The singer was featured in TST’s most recent single Countdown, which was released earlier this year.
It was confirmed that Yohan had died on June 16, at the age of 28.
There has been no cause of death announced.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
