Moonbin, a member of K-pop boy band Astro, has died at 25.

Moonbin, a K-pop star and a member of the boy band Astro, has passed away at the age of 25.

Image credit: The Indian Express

Moonbin, a 25-year-old member of the boy band Astro in the K-pop industry, has passed away according to an announcement made by his music label, Fantagio, on Thursday. Local media reported that the police found him unresponsive in his apartment in Seoul's Gangnam neighborhood on Wednesday evening.

In a statement posted on Fantagio's official Twitter page early Thursday, it was mentioned that Moonbin had passed away on April 19 and had become a star in the sky.

The announcement made by Fantagio did not mention the cause of Moonbin's death. The statement also requested that people avoid making any unfounded or hurtful statements about the matter, in order to respect the privacy of his grieving family.

Moonbin, who performed as part of the K-pop boy band Astro and a subgroup called Moonbin & Sanha, passed away. He was a member of Fantagio's trainee program and worked as an actor and model before his debut with Astro in February 2016.

Moonbin's sister, Moon Sua, is also a K-pop singer in the girl group Billlie. The cause of Moonbin's death was not mentioned in the announcement made by Fantagio. The news of his passing prompted an outpouring of grief from fans on social media.

Several other young K-pop stars have died in recent years, including Goo Hara in November 2019, who was abused by an ex-boyfriend and blackmailed after their split. Her close friend and fellow K-pop star Sulli killed herself in October 2019 after struggling with online bullying.

In 2018, Minwoo of boy band 100% died of cardiac arrest at home, while Jonghyun, lead singer of SHINee, died by suspected suicide just over three months earlier.

K-pop stars are often discovered by agencies at a young age and undergo rigorous training, which takes over their daily lives. South Korea has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, with recent government figures showing that it is among the top causes of death for those under 40.