Police have reported the death of Moonbin, who was a member of the South Korean pop group Astro and its sub-unit Moonbin & Sanha. He was 25 years old.
According to Yonhap News, authorities reported that the singer, whose real name was Moon Bin, was discovered deceased at around 8:10 p.m. on Wednesday in his home located in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.
The official cause of death is still pending, but it is suspected to be suicide.
Fantagio, Moonbin’s record label, confirmed his death in a statement released on Twitter on Wednesday.
“First of all, I apologize for the sad and heartbreaking news,” it began.
“On April 19, Astro member Moonbin suddenly left us and became a star in the sky.”
The statement mentioned that Moonbin’s family members and colleagues, such as his fellow bandmates Cha Eun-woo, Rocky, Yoon San-ha, MJ, and Jinjin, were “deeply mourning the deceased in great sadness and shock.”
The team requested that fans “refrain from speculative and malicious reports so that that the bereaved families, who are deeply saddened by the sudden sad news, can reverently commemorate and greet the deceased.”
According to the statement, only Moonbin’s family members, friends, and colleagues will attend the funeral and it will be held “as quietly as possible.”
Meanwhile, fans went to the Instagram page of the “Candy Sugar Pop” singer to pay tribute to him.
A follower who was feeling heartbroken wrote, “You changed my life 😭😭😭😭😭 You made me sooooo happy, Bin 😭😭😭😭😭 Thank you for everything 😭😭😭😭😭😭 I’ll love you forever 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 Rest in peace, my love.”
Another person said, “He always had such a big smile on his face which could automatically make a people smile too but now that’s happiness is gone making everyone sad and loss of smile.”
A third commented, referring to the series of suicides that have happened in the K-pop industry in recent years, “As an old Kpoper I hate kpop anymore.. I feel that those bad days we had in the past have been repeated again… R.I.P. #Moonbin.”
Kim Jonghyun, the former lead singer of the popular South Korean pop group SHINee, was found dead in his apartment in Seoul in December 2017. The 27-year-old had left a suicide note, disclosing his ongoing struggle with depression.
In November 2019, K-pop star Goo Hara died at the age of 28 in an apparent suicide, which was less than two years after the prior incident.
