Only a year and a half after his older sister committed suicide, now actor-singer Choi Jin-young has been discovered dead after taking his own life on the morning of March 29.
Choi Jin-young’s body is currently in the funeral hall of a Kangnam hospital in Seoul. A rep from his side said on the afternoon of the 29th, “We heard the sudden sad news from his family. We heard that he has passed away, but we were not told the details. We are stricken with grief.”
Much-beloved actress Choi Jin-shil’s death rocked the industry when she committed suicide after battling depression in October 2008. Her mental anguish was aggravated by the constant malicious harassment of a netizen who accused Choi of contributing to the suicide of her friend, fellow actor Ahn Jae-hwan, just a month prior. Those two deaths were the first in a series of celebrity suicides that followed (many of those celebrities were said to be battling depression as well).
After her death, an ugly custody battle unfolded between her family (Jin-young and their mother) and her ex-husband, former baseball player (and deadbeat dad and abusive husband) Jo Sung-min, who eventually relinquished his claim after massive public outcry. Her two children were being raised by Jin-young and their grandmother, and Jin-young had taken on a fatherly role to them. He was even planning on making an acting comeback — he announced plans to return to television just earlier this month. He had announced, “I’ve got to earn a living and start acting again for the sake of my niece and nephew. I’ll have to show them in person what kind of work their uncle does.”
Choi Jin-young battled depression of his own, and sank into a prolonged spell following his sister’s death. It is believed that he died by hanging; his mother discovered his body at home and police were called on Monday afternoon. Choi was 39.
Below, he is pictured with his sister’s two children.
- Via DongA, Star News, Asia Economy
- S: Dramabeans
I’m left utterly shocked in class seeing the news
Filed under: K Entertainment | Tagged: Choi Jin Shil, Choi Jin Young |
K Bites 
wtf is with suicide in korea??
Occurs everywhere. Just that they actually publish it.
Depression is bad enough. Being a celebrity with depression is even worse. =(
Coward.. Although I can understand that he was experiencing serious depression, that is not a good enough reason to take his own life.. He should have stuck it out for his sisters KIDS for fuck sake.. now those kids are going to be just as mentally unstable as their mom and uncle.. what is his mother going to tell those kids???
what a tragedy my condolences go out to the family.. I feel for his mother who had to bury two of her kids..
what a shame…
Pussy, what is a good enough reason to take your own life then? Wait till you get depression, don’t worry, And I hope you get a serious bout of it. That is a cruel thing to curse someone with but wait till one day your brain decides to malfunction, affecting your thought patterns and your actions. There are sane people out there who do much worse and selfish things. Your comment is one of those callous examples.
This guy killed himself, doing the one thing you probably haven’t really been forced to consider. Considering that he had depression before his sister’s death, he “STUCK OUT” for one and a half years even after something as real as a close relative’s death.So please, I feel for the people around you who had to tolerate you and your ignorance.
RIP to choi jin-young. T_T
a saddening sudden incident..
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This is sad, my condolences to the family.
It’s like a horrible train wreck.
I’ve been reading news of deaths and suicides though mostly the latter in the kpop realm and it never ceases to shock me.
One after the other. Train wreck. When will it stop?
my condolences to the family. I feel so sad for their mother and children. They had to suffer two losses in such a short amount of time. RIP.
So sad.
May he rest in peace. It’s horrible news, and for the mother, the guilt she is feeling, just so sad.
R.I.P his sister also died at the age of 39 it’s really sad when I saw his picture I was like he looks familar I searched his name and found out he was the guy on WGM I felt like crying because I really liked him altough his was not on the show for many episodes
my condolences to the family.
I think Kbites should remove some of these comments. It really kills the overall unbiased vibe of Kbites and is just outright rude to let people say some of the things they are saying on such a sad post.
Besides Kbites doesnt need rude commenters to stir up controversy like Allkpop does (it was so shockingly attention-whorish how they just let some the comments on the sunken ship off N.Korea stay up just to collect comments). There’s a big difference between freedom of speech and rudeness.
Anyway, my heart breaks for the kids and granny – I hope other family members are helping out and we the public support them as much as we can.
oh please, not only korean and japanese commit suicides but people from the whole world
It’s sad to see this kind of incident always happening in the Korean entertainment history. I hope they have better psychological help available, like an intervention or psychiatrist so that these things stop. =(
And it’s bad to say that Koreans have no religion, they do suicide all the time blah blah blah. I mean I think it’s really more frequent there but it’s mean to say that. You’re not helping them at all.
Condolences to the family. I hope these things don’t happen anymore. We all have one life to live. It’s just so sad…why would he take his life? What made him think that there’s no escape? =(
This is sad but its not just korean people that commit suicides but also japanese.
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condolences to the family.. 😥
I cant even imagine what his mother is even thinking right now ..I think the worst thing that can happen to any parents is to witness the death of their own child and the sad thing that she did not only losr one child but two in the same way and I hope god will give his morther all the power the strength that she needs
to everyone suicide is not the answer
they take life so easily , thats why they thought suicide is the best way to get an end to all their misery .
i mean , they are seriously lost . and all they can think is about their ownselves . if they cared enough for the peoples they love , they will not do an arbitrary decision .
come to think of it , i will say , they too coward .
I don’t think you know what depression is. It’s a medical illness, and without treatment, suicide is how it usually ends. Please think before you comment. This is such tragic news, and he is gone already, there is no need for you to insult such a person.
omg I’m so shocked right now.
I just can’t stop thinking at their mother, two of her kids. omg and the two children. omg so sad D:
Rest In Peace Choi JinYoung
OMG…how could he even did that? I pity the 2 children and the grandmother. Imagine Mr choi’s mother will be superbly sad over the loss of her 2 children. This is sad
…wow… that’s a shock… I really hoped he would be able to go on… I remember watching him in a talk show and talking about her….I feel bad for the children as well… Must cope with their mother & uncle’s death… I hope they turn out all right…
R.I.P Choi Jinyoung…
omg…i was shocked when I heard about Choi Jin Shil’s passing away…and now this…it’s really sad, not sure how the kids will deal with this…i hope he is at least at peace now
omg 😦 thats sooo sad.
Oh my..
I guess the brother really cant get over his sister death..
Im so sympathy with the 2 children…
R.I.P. =(
why is it so easy for them to take away their lives..
From what others tell me,Korea originated without religion and most of them are atheist…
i really don’t understand…
i’m sad for the kids..first their mom and now their uncle..
I’m sure it wasn’t that easy. People who suffer from depression are seriously ill. To die by hanging is one of the most cruel ways to die, and most people who choose to do so are mentally ill and cannot overcome their condition.
And I don’t know who these “others” are, but Korea did not originate without religion. They were strongly influenced by Buddhist teachings, and took on Christianity later on through greater European contact.
Even if they did “originate without religion”, you seem to imply that this is a reason for suicide. Seems like you are making a value judgment to me. People who are “atheist” (who believe there is no god) are not people who are “lost” or “depressed” without a religion. These are people who have reasoned and chosen to believe that there is no greater power, but that is not to say they have no thoughts on the afterlife or faith in the value of human life.
I’m saddened by your lack of common sense and research skills.
Yeah..what’s going to happen to them??..I dont understand why korean likes to take their own life..
Yes, me too. I find korean people stupid. Why do they like to commit suicide and do stupid things? They shouldn’t take things like this easily. People have only 1 life to live. If you depress, tell your family or maybe do things like sports to release ur depression.
I find your comment ridiculously ignorant and insulting. Depression is a legitimate medical illness with proven biology. Are you going to go tell someone with diabetes to go play sports to get rid of their disease?
i also find your comment offensive
you really don’t know what kind of things they are going through to make them to this, I’m sure everyone thought about suiciding at one point in their lives, and he just couldnt bear it anymore i’m guessing. You can say talk to other people about it, but in that situation and mood, would you really want to?
i also find your comment offensive, stop fucking stereotyping, you should be mourning his death not complaining about how “koreans” are stupid and commit suicide. Stop generalizing, Koreans don’t like taking their own lives. so go stuff your head in a bin.
i think you’re taking depression too lightly…depression isn’t just the normal everyday up’s and down’s…it’s not just feeling ‘low’…
sometimes people forget that it is a serious illness because people tend to just throw the word around and use it frequently, like, some people who get 89 on their test will say ‘oh i’m so depressed’ but in most cases it’s not that they are actually suffering from depression it’s just that they’re ‘unhappy’, but they choose to use the word ‘depress’ instead….
Most of the people who are suffering from depression will actually withdraw from the world and people around them and hence they won’t actually feel like talking to people about it…during the time when they are depressed all that comes to mind is the suffering and pain they’ve been through…and they can’t recall a time when they are happy…and they don’t see a way out of the situation they are in, that’s why some people have suicidal thoughts and commit suicide…
And it’s not only Korean people who commit suicide, it happens world wide…
People don’t “LIKE TO COMMIT SUICIDE” they do it cos’ they don’t see a way out they feel trapped it’s not that anyone actually likes it…
And lastly, depression isn’t like anger that you can release by doing something like sports..otherwise the world wouldn’t need antidepressant medications and everyone would just be recommended to do sport…
I just think that for you to make a comment like that, you don’t understand depression really well…
please hush.
please be very careful with your comment. dont try to generalize them (the koreans) too much. it happens everywhere. the only difference is that in korea, they are pretty open and honest about what happens to their celebrities. in other countries, they try to hide these things saying that it was possibly overdoes or they died in their sleep.
STUDY DEPRESSION BEFORE YOU COMMENT.
Depression is seriously not something you shd take lightly. People who are depressed see everything in the negative light so much so that everything builds up and very often leads to suicides.
i think the worst thing here is the 2 kids having the face 2 close kins commiting suicide in a short span of 2 years /:
We do not know what actually happened that pushed him over the edge so it is not right to criticize and to generalize all Koreans to be the same. Suicides are found in the other parts of the world too, even in Hollywood.
How ignorant of you to say that! People don’t take their lives because they think its fun or anything. They don it because they feel that there is no other reason for them to live. Most suicidal people actually confide in someone however others don’t believe them. Sports don’t help with depression
what will happend with his mother, niece and nephew?
this is so sad. …
awful.
isn’t korea one of the countries with the highest number of suicides in the world?
No, it’s actually in Eastern Europe, but Korea is in the top ten though.
It’s popular among celebs/entertainers (people who have money, meaning not poverty) in Korea more than any other country.
Omg this is so sad for his family