K-pop fans ‘devastated’ by possible suicide

Kim Jong-hyun, the lead singer of the popular South Korean boy band SHINee, died Monday in what police are calling a possible suicide, devastating fans of the megastar best known by his stage name, Jonghyun.

SHINee’s record label, SM Entertainment, confirmed the 27-year-old singer’s death in a statement Monday.

“We are sorry to deliver such heartbreaking and unfortunate news,” the statement read. “On December 18, SHINee member Jonghyun suddenly left us.”

The record label added its employees and fellow SM artists were deeply shocked and grieving.

“Jonghyun was the best artist who loved music more than anyone and gave his all on the stage,” the statement said. “It is heartbreaking to deliver such sad news to the fans who loved him.”

The performer was found unconscious Monday afternoon at his residential hotel in Cheongdam-dong, a highend enclave of the Gangnam District in Seoul, and rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was later declared dead, the SM statement said.

Jonghyun’s sister told police she received foreboding text messages from her brother that alluded to a “final farewell,” and called emergency responders late Monday afternoon because she feared Jonghyun was going to take his own life, according to the Yonhap News Agency.

Investigators found coal briquettes burning in a pan in the singer’s apartment when they arrived and suspect he may have died of carbon monoxide inhalation, according to the news agency. Police have not yet ruled the death a suicide and an autopsy will be conducted, local news outlets reported.