K-pop star Moonbin, a member of the boy band Astro, has died, his music label and South Korean police said yesterday, prompting an outpouring of grief from fans.
He was 25.
The singer was found dead at his home in southern Seoul late on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the South Korean National Police Agency told reporters.
Photo: AFP
There was no evidence of foul play, they said.
Moonbin’s label Fantagio Music also released a statement yesterday confirming his death, without disclosing the cause.
“On April 19, Astro member Moon Bin unexpectedly left our world and became a star in the sky,” it wrote on Twitter.
It asked that people “refrain from speculative and malicious reports” so his family can pay their respects and honor him in peace.
The label’s announcement prompted thousands of comments from grieving fans, many expressing disbelief.
“Rest in peace, Moonbin. I hope the stars and the moon treat you well. I hope they give you all the comfort and love,” one wrote on Twitter.
“I can’t focus on work now. This really hurts,” wrote another.
Moon Bin — who performed as Moonbin — was a member of the group Astro and also performed with a subgroup called Moonbin & Sanha.
He joined Fantagio’s trainee program at an early age, and was an actor and child model before debuting with Astro in February 2016.
Prior to his passing, Moonbin & Sanha had been set to perform at the Dream Concert — one of the largest K-pop joint concerts in South Korea — next month.
The group had also been in the middle of their Diffusion Fan Con Tour across Asia, and had launched an official fan community page on Weverse — the global fandom platform from K-pop megastars BTS’ agency HYBE — on Sunday.
“While no passing from any artist is ever to be expected, Moonbin’s untimely passing was all the more shocking given how active the young star was, even the week of his death,” said Jeff Benjamin, Billboard’s K-pop columnist. “No one around him saw this coming, but what we can keep is his undeniable smile.”
“I’ve seen its brightness compared to the Cheshire Cat from Alice and Wonderland, and the wonderful music and performances he gave us,” Benjamin added.
Beneath the glitz and glamor, the K-pop industry is also known for its cutthroat competition, a lack of privacy, online bullying and relentless public pressure to maintain a wholesome image at all times.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, citing an unnamed police official, reported that authorities believe Moon’s death is a case of apparent suicide.
Several other young K-pop stars have died of suspected suicides in the past few years, including Goo Hara who passed in 2019.
She had been abused by an ex-boyfriend who, after they split, blackmailed her over sex videos.
The suspected suicide occurred a month after her close friend, K-pop star Sulli, took her own life after a long struggle with online bullying, prompting demands in South Korea for stronger punishments for cybercrimes.
Sulli’s death echoed that of fellow K-pop star Jonghyun, who took his life in 2017 after battling depression.
“It’s always the people who smile the most who suffer the greatest,” one of Moon’s fans wrote. “When the sky shines beautifully we’ll think of you and when the stars shine bright we will think of you.”
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