ASTRO member Moonbin dies at 25

K-pop singer found dead at his home

By Dong Sun-hwa

Moonbin, a member of K-pop boy group ASTRO, has died at the age of 25.

He was found dead by his manager at his home in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, at about 8:10 p.m., Wednesday, according to the police. The manager is known to have gone to his home because Moonbin was out of contact.

Moonbin is believed to have taken his own life, as there was no evidence of foul play. But police are reportedly considering an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.

“Moonbin left us all of a sudden and became a star in the sky,” Fantagio, his agency, said Thursday. “ASTRO members, other Fantagio artists and officials are mourning him deeply. It is heartbreaking for us to deliver such news to his fans who have been supporting and loving him.”

Born in 1998 in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, Moonbin debuted as a child model in 2004. Two years later, he appeared in a music video for K-pop act TVXQ's song “Balloons,” in which he played a younger version of the member U-Know Yunho. Moonbin later picked TVXQ as his role model, saying he decided to become a singer because of the group.

In 2009, Moonbin was featured in the popular drama “Boys over Flowers,” before he became an idol trainee with Fantagio. Following several years of training, he debuted as part of ASTRO in 2016 with the single “Hide & Seek.” ASTRO burst onto the K-pop scene as a six-piece group consisting of Moonbin, MJ, Jinjin, Cha Eun-woo, Yoon San-ha and Rocky, but Rocky quit the act in March.

Moonbin was reputed for being an all-rounder excelling in both singing and dancing. His team rolled out a series of hits such as “Crazy Sexy Cool” (2017) and “All Night” (2019). He also formed a sub-unit with Sanha in 2020, debuting with the EP “In-Out.” Its latest mini-album, “INCENSE,” came out in January and ranked first on iTunes' top albums chart in 18 regions.

ASTRO embarked on a world tour in March and was scheduled to perform in different places including Taipei and Jakarta. But Fantagio called off all the events.

Moonbin also made frequent appearances on variety shows including the 2020 cooking program “Food Avengers” and Coupang Play's “Saturday Night Live Korea” in 2021, among others. He also made headlines last year for performing “Candy In My Ears” (2009) with his younger sister Moon Su-a, a member of rookie K-pop girl group Billlie. The video featuring their performance garnered more than 12 million views on YouTube. Moonbin forged an acting career as well, starring in the 2020 web series “Mermaid Prince: The Beginning.”

Numerous celebrities are in mourning for Moonbin. ASTRO member Cha Eun-woo is urgently returning to Korea from the U.S., and MJ, who has been fulfilling his compulsory military service, took time off to visit the funeral service that has been set up at Asan Medical Center in southern Seoul.

TV personality Jang Sung-kyu shed tears on his radio program, saying, “I cannot believe it. When I met him recently, he was so bright. I hope he rests in peace.”

Another TV personality Kwon Hyuk-soo said on Instagram, “I love you so much. I am sorry and thankful, and I miss you. Please stay healthy there.”

Moonbin's funeral will be private, attended only by family, friends and colleagues from Fantagio.