SEOUL ā 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 wasnāt responding to contacts. Police are investigating his death but have so far found no signs of foul play, according to South Koreaās Yonhap news agency. Officials at Seoulās Gangnam district police station did not respond to calls for comment.
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Moon Binās management agency, Fantagio, confirmed his death in a statement, saying that he āsuddenly left us and became a star in the skyā and that fellow artists and company staff were mourning him with āvery deep sadness and shock.ā
Fantagio said Moon Binās funeral will be held āas quietly as possible,ā with the attendance mostly limited to family, close friends and colleagues, based on the wishes of his relatives.
Moon Bin began his music career in 2016 as a member of the six-member boyband Astro, which debuted shortly after the singers appeared in a TV reality show. The group quickly found success in South Korea and Japan and was listed on Billboardās top 10 list of new K-pop groups that year, with the magazine praising them for their ābright, synthpop sound that won over K-pop lovers from around the world.ā
According to Billboard, Astro had seven albums on the magazineās World Albums Chart with Moon Bin as a member, peaking at No. 5 in 2017 with āDream Part.02.ā
Fans flooded Moon Binās social media accounts with comments expressing grief and shock over his death, which came months after he renewed his contract with Fantagio along with four other Astro members.
āItās hard to believe,ā radio host Jang Seong-kyu wrote on Instagram. āWe only met several times over broadcasts, but whenever we met, Moon Bin was always bright and expressed immense love for his family. I canāt imagine the pain he was going through.ā Moon Bin had also performed as a member of the duo Moonbin & Sanha with Astro bandmate Yoon San-ha. Indonesian event promoter Lumina Entertainment on Wednesday announced the cancellation of the duoās performance in Jakarta due to āunforeseen circumstances beyond our control.ā
Helix Publicity, a U.S.-based public relations agency that has represented Moonbin & Sanha, issued a statement on Twitter that it was āabsolutely heartbroken.ā
āSending our thoughts, prayers, and deepest condolences to Moon Binās family, friends, loved ones, and to AROHA who always cheered for him and supported him,ā it said, referring to the name that Astroās fans call themselves.
Moon Bin entered the entertainment industry as a child actor and landed a role in the 2009 TV series āBoys Over Flowers,ā which was hugely popular in Asia. His sister, Moon Sua, is also a K-pop artist, a member of the girl band Billlie.
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 actress Jung Chae-yull was found dead at her home. Her agency did not say what caused her sudden death.