K-Pop Star Sulli Found Dead In Home Of Possible Suicide

SEOUL (CNN) — K-pop star Sulli, formerly of the band f(x), has been found dead at her home.

The 25-year-old singer and actress was found dead by her manager on Monday afternoon local time, police told CNN.

K-pop star Sulli, formerly of the band f(x), has been found dead at her home. The 25-year-old singer (second from right) and actress was found dead by her manager, police told CNN. Sulli was a child actor before making her singing debut with the girl group f(x) in 2009. (Credit: CNN)

“So far, it seems she killed herself, but we will leave all possibilities open and investigate,” a police official said.

Sulli’s manager spoke to her on Sunday evening and went to check on her when he was unable to reach her on Monday.

The singer, whose real name is Choi Jin-ri, was found on the second floor of her house in Sujeong-gu, Seongnam, south of the capital city, Seoul.

Police said they found a note at the scene but have yet to analyze its content. Investigations are ongoing.

FILE — Singer Sulli attends Tory Burch Spring 2016 at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on Sept. 15, 2015, in New York City. (Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Tory Burch)

Sulli was a child actor before making her singing debut with the girl group f(x) in 2009.

She left the group in 2015 to concentrate on acting before returning to the music scene as a solo artist, releasing a single, “Goblin,” in June 2019.

Sulli also appeared on a TV show in which K-pop stars talked about receiving negative online comments, Reuters reports.

Korean pop music — or K-pop — is one of the country’s biggest exports in the past decade.

Many of its stars — known as idols — train for years, honing their singing, dancing and acting skills, while also learning other Asian languages, before they are even allowed to debut their first song.

Stars of the genre are subject to intense pressure, which has been linked to a mental health crisis in the industry.

K-pop megastar Jonghyun, whose real name was Kim Jong-hyun, ended his own life in Seoul in December 2017.

And singer and actress Goo Hara, formerly part of girl band Kara, apologized to fans after being found unconscious at home in May 2019.

The singer had posted the word “Goodbye,” to her Instagram account, prompting a rush of comments from concerned fans.

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Sulli, South Korean K-Pop Star and Actress, Is Found Dead

Sulli, 25, was known for being outspoken. She was found in her home on Monday, the authorities said, with no signs of foul play.

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Sulli, a former member of the South Korean girl group f(x), left the band in 2015 to pursue a solo career. Credit. YONHAP, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The actress, singer and former K-pop band member Sulli, 25, was found dead in her home on Monday, the police said.

Sulli’s manager found her while checking her home in Seongnam, South Korea, after she failed to answer phone calls, said Kim Seong-tae, an official from the Seongnam Sujeong Police Department, according to The Associated Press.

“The investigation is ongoing and we won’t make presumptions about the cause of death,” he said, adding that there was no sign of foul play. Officials did not find a suicide note, he said, and security camera footage at the home did not show signs of intrusion.

The police cordoned off Sulli’s house in Seongnam, South Korea, on Monday. Credit. Yonha, via EPA, via Shutterstock

Sulli was known for being relatively candid in an industry that often rewarded glossy conformity, said Jeff Benjamin, the K-pop columnist at Billboard. “She really was an outspoken star in an industry that probably would have rather had her stay quiet,” he said.

On Monday, some fans of the artist suggested that critical comments online had affected her mental health.

Sulli, whose legal name was Choi Jin-ri, did some acting as a child before she was recruited to join the girl group f(x) under SM Entertainment, one of South Korea’s major K-pop agencies. The band, which debuted in 2009, was quirkier than most other girl bands, which might have been a good fit for Sulli, Mr. Benjamin said.

She formally left the group in 2015 to focus on other things, including acting. She appeared in several films, and this year she became a host of a Korean television show whose title has been translated as “The Night of Hate Comments.” It featured celebrity guests poking fun at their experiences with online criticism and cyberbullying.

Sulli returned to music to release a solo album, “Goblin,” in June. The title song is about a person with dissociative disorder, which has also been called multiple personality disorder.

K-pop groups have grown in popularity over the past decade, transcending borders (despite language barriers) to spread in Europe, the Middle East and the Americas, helped in large part by social media platforms like Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.

In 2017, Sulli attended a memorial for another K-pop star, Kim Jong-hyun, 27, who killed himself after leaving a note that said he was overcome by depression.

In November 2019, former K-pop band member Goo Hara was found dead in her home in Seoul, South Korea, the police said. She was 28.

If you are having thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK). You can find a list of additional resources at SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources. Here’s what you can do when a loved one is severely depressed.

K-pop star Sulli found dead at 25

Sulli, a South Korean pop star, actress and girl-group f(x) alum, was found dead Monday in her home. She was 25.

Sulli’s body was discovered after her manager visited her residence in Seongnam because she wasn’t answering phone calls for hours, said Kim Seong-tae, an official from the Seongnam Sujeong Police Department, according to the Associated Press,

While the police investigation into the “Goblin” artist’s death is “still ongoing,” Kim confirmed to AP that there was no evidence of foul play or a suicide message, though police told CNN that a note — the contents of which are still unknown — was found at the scene. Security camera footage at Sulli’s home also showed no signs of an intrusion, Kim told AP, adding that authorities “won’t make presumptions about the cause of death.”

“So far, it seems she killed herself, but we will leave all possibilities open and investigate,” a police official told CNN.

Sulli, whose legal name is Choi Jin-ri, got her start in the entertainment industry as a child actress, appearing in South Korean TV dramas and movies. She later pursued music in 2009 as a member of the K-pop group f(x) before eventually leaving the five-girl outfit in 2015.

SM Entertainment, Sulli’s agency, said her death was “very hard to believe and sorrowful” in a statement to reporters, and f(x) member Amber J. Liu announced to fans that she would be taking a break from work in the wake of the news.

“Due to recent events i’ll be putting on hold my upcoming activities,” Liu tweeted on Monday. “Sorry everyone. Thank you for your thoughts.”

Sulli was known for speaking out against criticism she received online, according to AP, as well as acting as a rare mouthpiece for feminism in conservative South Korea. She most recently appeared in the South Korean drama series “Hotel Del Luna.”