Singer's suicide recalled six years on
The late Choi Jin-sil, left, and the late Choi Jin-young / Korea Times
By Ko Dong-hwan
Six years ago Tuesday, singer and actor Choi Jin-young killed himself after a battle with depression.
His death at 39 was recalled this week in many media reports.
Choi’s death was especially shocking because his older sister, pop media sensation and actress Choi Jin-sil, also killed herself, in 2008, aged 39. Her death left behind two children and ex-husband Cho Sung-min.
Choi Jin-young cries at the funeral for his sister / Korea Times
The actress enjoyed steady popularity after her debut in 1988, sparking a nationwide following in the 1990s with her ads, TV dramas and movies. There were rumors that the late actor Ahn Jae-hwan, who killed himself two months before her, had borrowed a large sum of money from her.
Cho, a youth national baseball player (1992-1995) and all-star while playing for the Yomiuri Giants of Japan (1996-2002), killed himself in 2013.
Choi debuted with a supporting role in the movie “Well, Let's Look at the Sky Sometimes” (1990). His band, Sky, active from 1999 until 2004, won the Best Newcomer category in the 2000 Golden Disk Awards and the Best New Male Artist category in the 2000 Mnet Asian Music Awards.