K-pop star Moon Bin found dead at home

Moon Bin, a singer from South Korean boyband Astro, was found dead at his home in Seoul, his management agency said Thursday.

The 25-year-old was reportedly found by his manager who went to the singer’s home Wednesday evening because he wasn’t responding to contacts. Police are investigating his death but have so far found no signs of foul play, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.

Officials at Seoul’s Gangnam district police station did not respond to calls for comment. Moon Bin’s management agency, Fantagio, confirmed his death in a statement, saying that he “suddenly left us and became a star in the sky” and that fellow artists and company officials were mourning him with “very deep sadness and shock”.

Fantagio said Moon Bin’s funeral will be held “as quietly as possible”, with the attendance mostly limited to family, close friends and colleagues, based on the wishes of his relatives.

Moon Bin debuted in 2016 with the six-member boyband Astro, which was launched shortly after the singers appeared in a TV reality show. The group quickly found success in South Korea and Japan and was listed on Billboard’s top 10 list of new K-pop groups that year, with the magazine praising them for their “bright, synthpop sound that won over K-pop lovers from around the world.” Moon Bin also performed as a member of the duo Moonbin & Sanha, with the other half being fellow Astro member Yoon San-ha. Indonesian event promoter Lumina Entertainment on Wednesday announced the cancellation of the duo’s performance in Jakarta due to “unforeseen circumstances beyond our control”.

Several South Korean singers and actors have died by suicide in recent years, which has touched off soul-searching about harsh competition in the fast-growing entertainment industry, an abusive online culture and failure by management to address the mental health problems of their stars.

Last week, 26-year-old actor Jung Chae-yull was found dead at her home. Her agency did not say what caused her sudden death.