Choi Sung-bong, a 33-year-old South Korean pop artist, was discovered dead in what appears to have been a suicide.
According to The Korea Times, the singer was discovered by authorities at his residence in the Yeoksam-dong neighbourhood of Seoul around 9:41 a.m. on Tuesday, June 20.
It happens barely two years after he was exposed for fabricating various cancers and soliciting financial support from fans.
He apologized and pledged to repay any donations after it was discovered to be fake.
The day before his death, he wrote a letter on his YouTube account in which he apologized for his “foolish mistakes,” leading police to suspect that he committed suicide.
He wrote: “From 2011 to the present, I have been receiving attention and love from so many people. I sincerely thank you and express my gratitude.”
He went on to apologise for the 2021 scam: “I am sincerely sorry for my foolish mistakes and those who have suffered damage, and I have repeatedly made mistakes.
“For the past two years, we have returned all those who have asked for a return of donations.
“Looking back, since I was young, I tried my best to enjoy a normal life, like every day for 10 years, but in the end, I’m sorry.
“I have no regrets about the journey of life that I have lived brilliantly. I have lived to the best of my ability and tried to have happiness every day.
“I am sincerely sorry to the many people who have been harmed because of me… I’m sorry to the many people who helped me.”
Slowcoach, published in 2016, Tonight, in 2021, and I PRAY, released in 2022 are only a few of the singer’s singles.
Following his success, Choi also penned a book in which he described his underprivileged beginnings and how he left music school due to financial difficulties.
He admitted in his Korea’s Got Talent audition that he was abandoned at the age of three but claimed that he fled after being beaten when he was just five years old.
Since then, he claimed, he has been homeless and independent, living from place to place. He stated that the one thing that had made him happy during this incredibly trying time was singing.
Choi, although claiming he wasn’t a decent singer, moved the judges to tears with his touching performance.
His passing occurs only a week after South Korean actress Park Soo Ryun passed away at the age of 29 after falling down some steps on her way home.
