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| Moonbin: K-pop star dies at age of 25 in suspected suicide | Moonbin: K-pop star dies at age of 25 in suspected suicide |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Moonbin had been in the middle of a world tour with Sanha, another member of Astro | |
| K-pop star Moonbin has died at the age of 25, his record label has announced. | K-pop star Moonbin has died at the age of 25, his record label has announced. |
| He was found unresponsive by his manager at his apartment in Seoul on Wednesday night, South Korean media quoted police as saying. | He was found unresponsive by his manager at his apartment in Seoul on Wednesday night, South Korean media quoted police as saying. |
| "He appears to have taken his own life but an autopsy is being reviewed to determine the exact cause of death," police said. | "He appears to have taken his own life but an autopsy is being reviewed to determine the exact cause of death," police said. |
| Moonbin "unexpectedly left our world and became a star in the sky", a tribute from his label Fantiago said. | Moonbin "unexpectedly left our world and became a star in the sky", a tribute from his label Fantiago said. |
| Moonbin had worked as an actor and model before joining the popular boy band Astro in 2016 at age 18. | |
| Since 2020, he had been performing with another Astro member Sanha in a duo. Moonbin & Sanha had been in the middle of a world tour with their last performance in Bangkok on 8 April. | |
| The label Fantiago said all of Astro's members were returning to Seoul on Thursday to gather for Moonbin's wake. | |
| The statement from the label also asked people to "refrain from speculative and malicious reports" so that Moonbin's family could pay their respects in peace. | |
| Moobin's sister Moon Sua is also a K-pop singer, part of the girl group Billlie. The siblings had previously spoken in public interviews about their dependence on each other. | |
| Moonbin is the latest K-pop star to lose their life in recent years: | Moonbin is the latest K-pop star to lose their life in recent years: |
| Singer and actress Goo Hara was found dead at her home in Seoul in 2019. Her close friend, K-pop star Sulli, killed herself after a long struggle with online bullying in the same year | Singer and actress Goo Hara was found dead at her home in Seoul in 2019. Her close friend, K-pop star Sulli, killed herself after a long struggle with online bullying in the same year |
| In 2018, Minwoo of boy band 100% died at home, with his label only saying he had suffered cardiac arrest | In 2018, Minwoo of boy band 100% died at home, with his label only saying he had suffered cardiac arrest |
| Jonghyun, the lead singer of SHINee, one of South Korea's biggest boy bands died in 2017. | |
| South Korea has the highest rate of youth suicide of all developed countries and while the country's overall suicide rate is falling, deaths of those in their 20s are rising. | South Korea has the highest rate of youth suicide of all developed countries and while the country's overall suicide rate is falling, deaths of those in their 20s are rising. |
| The government is trying to substantially reduce the number of suicides, which plague Korea's hyper-competitive society. | The government is trying to substantially reduce the number of suicides, which plague Korea's hyper-competitive society. |
| Moonbin joined the Fantagio's trainee program as a child before eventually joining Astro. The group was originally six performers, but one member left in February 2023. | |
| Astro fans - known as "Arohas"- have been mourning Moonbin's death. Known as an all-round performer, he had been seen as the boy band's most celebrated dancer. | |
| Pictures on social media showed fans on Wednesday night laying flowers and post-it notes at impromptu street memorials in South Korea. Fans also strung up purple and silver balloons - colours that had featured prominently at the singer's last performance in Thailand. | |
| Moonbin had been on the "Diffusion" tour with Sanha, promoting the duo's latest EP record which was released in January. | |
| Moonbin, left, and Sanha of Astro last year | |
| Moonbin had told fans after the concert that he had been going through a difficult time, Korean broadcaster SBS reported on Thursday. | |
| "I want to confess one thing, I'm actually feeling really bad. There might have been a lot of signs from which people could notice since the concert started, so I'm also very sorry to you guys. | |
| "I'm working out and trying to pick up things that I've left little by little. I chose this job so I need to be happy so that I can make fans happy as well," he said in a live broadcast over social media. | |
| The duo had been due to perform in Macau this Saturday, as well as in Indonesia and Japan in May. | |
| For information and support about any issues raised in this story contact the BBC Action Line. | For information and support about any issues raised in this story contact the BBC Action Line. |
| Related Topics | Related Topics |
| Asia | Asia |
| K-pop | K-pop |
| South Korea | South Korea |
| Music | Music |