South Korean actress and former member of Kpop girl group Sulli was confirmed to have passed away last Monday, October 14, 2019. She was found unconscious by her manager at around 3:20 p.m., inside her house at Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.
The Seongnam Fire Department revealed that Sulli was already dead by the time they arrived around 3:29 PM, after receiving a call from her manager. Paramedics found no signs of cardiac arrest and post-death paralysis, so they immediately handed the case to the police.
“Choi apparently lived alone in the house, and it seems that she took her own life but we are also looking into other possibilities,” a police official said.
However, as there is no suicide note found yet, the investigation is still ongoing. The police also reported that there are no signs of an intruder breaking into the house.
On the October 14 broadcast of JTBC’s News Room, the police revealed a note pad with Sulli’s written thoughts they found during the investigation in her home. However, they confirmed that those were not suicide notes.
According to the police statement, Sulli suffered from “severe depression.”
As of writing, there are no reports about the exact cause of her death.
Sulli, whose real name is Choi Jinri, debuted as a member of the girl group f(x) in 2009, under the company SM Entertainment. Aside from performing as an idol, Sulli had also done projects as an actress; most notable as the main lead of the Korean adaptation of Hana Kimi.
In 2014, she went on hiatus after being the subject of malicious comments and rumors about her. A year later, she officially withdrew from f(x) and said will focus on her acting career instead.
However, Sulli was still showered with hate and criticism online for her bold personality and controversial comments, especially when the news broke out about her dating the Dynamic Duo rapper Choiza who is her 14 years senior.
At the news of Sulli’s passing, some clips of her expressing her thoughts from her previous Instagram live/stories resurfaced online.
In one of the clips where she received mostly hate comments, she said, “Why are you doing this to me? I’m not a bad person.”
The Kpop Entertainment world was shocked by the news of Sulli’s passing that some of the idols have cancelled their scheduled events in honor of Sulli.
Amber Liu, Sulli’s former fellow member in f(x), took to her Twitter and Instagram accounts to announce that she’s putting on hold her upcoming activities.
Due to recent events i’ll be putting on hold my upcoming activities. Sorry everyone.
Thank you for your thoughts.
— Amber J. Liu 刘逸云 (@llama_ajol) October 14, 2019
Super Junior, who is also under SM Entertainment, announced the postponement of their music video release.
안녕하세요. Label SJ입니다.
슈퍼주니어의 정규 9집 앨범 타이틀 곡 ‘SUPER Clap’ 뮤직비디오 공개가 10월 18일 0시로 연기되었습니다. 기다려 주신 팬 여러분들께 사과 말씀드리며, 깊은 양해 부탁드리겠습니다.— SUPER JUNIOR (@SJofficial) October 15, 2019
Other Kpop groups such as Monsta X and N.Flying have also announced changes in their event schedules in respect to Sulli’s passing.
While some of her closest friends like Goo Hara (Former Kara), Ku Hyesun, Ahn Jaehyun, Mina (Former AOA), and Hong Suk Chun took to their Instagram accounts to express their grief over her death.
Some of her fellow idols took to their Twitter accounts to send prayers as well, such as Peniel (BToB), Park Jimin (Former 15&), and Jun (UKISS).
https://twitter.com/PenielShin/status/1183725229551443969
One of the bravest and brightest. Rest In Peace.
— 지민지민지민 (@jiminpark07) October 14, 2019
너무 고생 많았어요..
거기선 아무 것도 신경 쓰지말고 정말 행복하게 지냈으면 좋겠어요 누나.
이제 편하게 푹 쉬세요.— JUN (@JuN97L) October 14, 2019
SM Entertainment also released a statement regarding Sulli’s funeral. They stated that the family wants to hold the funeral service privately. They won’t be announcing the location to keep the media from coming.
The entertainment company also announced that with the artist’s family’s wish, they prepared a place for Sulli’s fans to pay respect and bid their final goodbye to the deceased idol. The memorial will be held at the funeral home of the Sinchon Severance Hospital on the following schedules: October 15 – from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.; and on October 16 – from noon to 9 p.m.