K-pop star Sulli found dead at age 25 in her South Korea home
South Korean pop star and actress Sulli, whose legal name is Choi Jin-ri, was found dead in her home in Seongnam, located south of capital city Seoul, on Monday afternoon, authorities say.
The 25-year-old singer's body was discovered by her manager, who went to check on her after repeated unanswered phone calls, Seongnam Sujeong Police Department official Kim Seong-tae told the Associated Press.
Her manager said the star struggled with depression before her death, notesVariety.
While no suicide note was found at the scene, officials said there were no signs of foul play and that security camera footage at the victim's home showed no signs of an intrusion.
"The investigation is ongoing, and we won’t make presumptions about the cause of death," Kim added.
Sulli rose to fame in 2009 as an original member of the K-pop girl band f(x) before taking a break in 2014, citing severe cyberbullying as the driving factor behind the decision.
She quit the group for good in 2015 and began focusing more on her acting career, appearing in multiple major Korean films before returning to music in 2019 with the solo album "Goblin."
She was also a close friend of Jonghyun, the lead vocalist of South Korean boy band Shinee, who killed himself in December 2017 amid his ongoing struggles with depression.
SM Entertainment, Sulli's agency, released a statement following her death, calling the tragedy "very hard to believe and sorrowful."
