K-pop star Moon Bin found dead at home

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FILE - Moon Bin, a member of K-Pop group ASTRO, poses for photos on the red carpet for the 2021 Asia Artist Awards in Seoul, South Korea, Dec. 2, 2021. Moon Bin was found dead at his home in Seoul, his management agency said Thursday, April 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)

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 wasnā€™t responding to contacts. Police are investigating his death but have so far found no signs of foul play, according to South Koreaā€™s Yonhap news agency. Officials at Seoulā€™s Gangnam district police station did not respond to calls for comment.

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Moon Binā€™s management agency, Fantagio, confirmed his death in a statement, saying that he ā€œsuddenly left us and became a star in the skyā€ and that fellow artists and company staff were mourning him with ā€œvery deep sadness and shock.ā€

Fantagio said Moon Binā€™s funeral will be held ā€œas 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 Billboardā€™s top 10 list of new K-pop groups that year, with the magazine praising them for their ā€œbright, synthpop sound that won over K-pop lovers from around the world.ā€

According to Billboard, Astro had seven albums on the magazineā€™s World Albums Chart with Moon Bin as a member, peaking at No. 5 in 2017 with ā€œDream Part.02.ā€

Fans flooded Moon Binā€™s 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.

ā€œItā€™s hard to believe,ā€ radio host Jang Seong-kyu wrote on Instagram. ā€œWe only met several times over broadcasts, but whenever we met, Moon Bin was always bright and expressed immense love for his family. I canā€™t 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 duoā€™s performance in Jakarta due to ā€œunforeseen 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 ā€œabsolutely heartbroken.ā€

ā€œSending our thoughts, prayers, and deepest condolences to Moon Binā€™s family, friends, loved ones, and to AROHA who always cheered for him and supported him,ā€ it said, referring to the name that Astroā€™s fans call themselves.

Moon Bin entered the entertainment industry as a child actor and landed a role in the 2009 TV series ā€œBoys 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.


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