Death Scandals and Disappearances Behind K-POP

K-Pop might seem all glitz and glamour, but behind the scenes, some of the darkest and most tragic stories have shaken the industry to its core. In The Scandals, D*aths, and Disappearances That Shook K-Pop, we dive into the heartbreaking events that left fans and idols devastated. These Popular K-Pop disasters show that fame often comes with a heavy price.

From shocking family tragedies to life-threatening incidents that unfolded in front of thousands, this video uncovers the untold details behind K-Pop’s most unforgettable disasters. Discover how idols, trainees, and entire fandoms were left reeling from moments that changed the course of careers — and lives — forever.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Shocking events seem to always have a place in the
K pop industry, with some being more serious than others,
and one of K pop's biggest tragedies happened in twenty fourteen,
when fans were shaken by one of the most tragic
and deeply personal events to.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Ever touch an idol's life.

Speaker 1 (00:14):
At the age of thirty, Super Junior's leader Lee Tuk
faced the unimaginable as his father and both grandparents were
found deceased in their home. The first reports that came
about the crime simply stated that Leetok's family members had
been tragically found in their home, but within a day,
the full details were made public, revealing an even more
disturbing and painful reality. According to police, Leetok's grandparents were

(00:34):
found lying in their bedroom, while his father was discovered
hanging from a wardrobe door. A note was also found
at the scene, which seemed to have been written by
Lee Took's father. Authorities later concluded that Leetok's father had
been the one to suffocate his own parents, after which
he then decided to bring about the same fate for himself.
This already horrifying situation became even more tragic once the
background behind it was understood as the turmoil within the

(00:57):
family was a key reason behind the events. It was
ordered that Leetok's father had been living separately from Leetok
and his siblings since his divorce from their mother in
nineteen ninety eight. However, things weren't going too smoothly for
him as he had eventually taken on the full responsibility
of caring for his elderly parents. His father, so Lee
Took's grandfather, had developed dementia over the years, and things

(01:17):
only became worse when his grandmother, who was initially taking
care of her husband, had become bedridden with late stage
lung cancer and was also diagnosed with dementia herself. Make
sure to follow the channel for K pop content and
don't forget to leave your thoughts on these events and
the comments down below. Leetuk's father had been doing everything
he could to take care of them both and be
a dutiful son. However, the burden unfortunately became too much

(01:39):
for him to handle. At the same time, his world
was seemingly crashing down on him as his business had
also failed, meaning he was in debt for hundreds of
thousands of dollars, which eventually led to the family's home
being seized. Having no other choice, Leetok's father had planned
to admit his parents to a hospital the next day,
hoping they would finally get the professional care they needed.
But just one day before the plan was so post

(02:00):
to take effect, things seemingly reached a boiling point as
he made the irreversible decision to end all three of
their lives, with his last written words being, I will
take my parents and go to Heaven together.

Speaker 2 (02:10):
I am sorry to my children.

Speaker 1 (02:12):
Following the devastating events, Leetuk, who was serving his mandatory
military service at the time, was granted emergency leave to
attend the funeral and make arrangements. Fellow IDOL celebrity, friends
and fans sent their condolences, filling the funeral hall with
wreaths and messages of support, all while his agency SM
Entertainment asked the public to allow Leetuk in his family
space to grieve in peace. This tragedy shocked fans around

(02:34):
the world, not only because of the horror of the
event itself, but also because it revealed a side of
Leetok's life that had mostly stayed in the shadows long
before this tragedy. Leetuk had spoken occasionally about the hardships
he faced growing up. On a television program in twenty twelve,
he admitted, I was often being hurt and my parents
would argue often. Father was just a scary figure to
me at the time. He didn't grow up in the

(02:56):
happy or privileged household that people might have assumed given
his fame success as a K pop idol. In another interview,
Leetuk revealed more about the emotional toll his upbringing had
on his life, saying I felt bitter towards my father
and confess that as a child he often wished he
had been born into a different family. His parents constant
fighting and his father's anger left him stressed and unhappy,

(03:16):
which is why life growing up had actually been much
harder for him than one would have imagined. What's even
more heartbreaking is that while Leetuk was achieving success with
Super Junior, topping charts and winning over fans around the globe,
his father was silently battling depression and financial ruin, which
also greatly impacted Leetuk's mental health. The contrast was painful,
as Leetuk had to smile and perform for television, all

(03:38):
while his father was collapsing under the weight of responsibilities
he could no longer carry. After the eventual loss of
his father and grandparents in twenty fourteen, Leetuk didn't just
lose three family members. He was left with an emotional
burden that still shapes how he lives and sees the
world today. In the year since, Leetuk has also opened
up about how this event only served to contribute to
his own depression and the complexity of his relationship with

(04:00):
his father. In twenty sixteen, Lee Took gave a speech
at a high school in Kungju with the title there
is No Hope Without Despair, where he spoke candidly about
his mental health struggles. He revealed that his depression began
affecting him heavily while he was serving in the military,
even before he received the devastating news. What hurt even
more was the final message his father left behind. The
last message left by Lee Took's father included a line

(04:22):
that would follow him forever, as it said, do you
truly believe you achieved success all by yourself? For someone
who had worked so hard, endured so much, and fought
to rise to stardom? Those words were more than just painful,
as Lee Took had struggled with his father's approval ever
since he was little. Many fans expressed how cruel it
must have felt, with comments saying glad he's doing better,
but man, his father really said something that he's never

(04:44):
going to forget, and I don't blame him at all
for being so depressed. In the years following the loss,
Lee Took has occasionally opened up about how the trauma
affected him. He has shared that healing is a slow
and painful process and that it's something he continues to
live with. He revealed that after returning from the military,
life didn't get any easier, as his father's failing business
had actually caused him to inherit an unpaid debt of

(05:05):
five billion one. Dealing with his new reality, Lee Took
had to take desperate measures as he sold his car
and took on every job offered to him, which included
hosting variety and guest appearances, not for his own ambition,
but to pay off the massive debt left behind. During
his speech, he also got into how hard a celebrity's
life can be behind the scenes, as they too can
live filled with sadness and despair. His words struck a

(05:28):
chord with many who understood what it meant to grow
up in a dysfunctional home. For fans, it even explained
a lot about Leetok's personality, his emotional openness, his constant
work ethic, and the way he's taken on the role
of caretaker not just in his family but in Super
Junior as well. But even as he tried to move forward,
it was clear that the pain never really left.

Speaker 2 (05:47):
In a YouTube live stream, Lee.

Speaker 1 (05:48):
Took opened up again about how the trauma still lingers
and how he actually has a hard time existing in
Korea because of everything that has happened to him.

Speaker 2 (05:56):
Honestly, the thought of trying.

Speaker 1 (05:57):
Something new on my own in Korea feels really scared
and daunting.

Speaker 3 (06:00):
Now.

Speaker 1 (06:01):
I just want to stick with what I've been doing well,
things like hosting variety shows, broadcasts or gigs.

Speaker 2 (06:06):
Keeping it stable and secure.

Speaker 1 (06:07):
He also admitted that his fear of the unknown keeps
him isolated, something even the people around him have noticed,
as he now tends to keep to himself a lot more.
He's even gotten the question of whether he's afraid of
all the things that can happen, something that he admitted
terrifies him.

Speaker 3 (06:21):
For someone who has.

Speaker 1 (06:22):
Lived much of his life in the public eye, Leetuk
now wishes only for a quieter life where he doesn't
necessarily need to always be a leader and entertainer or
someone who always has it together. He also heartbreakingly confessed
how he wishes the world would see him after everything.

Speaker 2 (06:36):
I just want people to look at.

Speaker 1 (06:37):
Me and say, oh, he's doing okay, or oh he's
still alive.

Speaker 2 (06:40):
And leave it at that.

Speaker 1 (06:42):
In the end, it seems like the perfection demanded of idols,
the way to financial responsibility, and the stigma around mental
health in Korea have all made it harder for him
to heal. And yet despite everything, Lee Tuk still shows up.
He still leads Super Junior, he still hosts shows, He
still smiles in front of cameras even when he may
be hurting inside. That in itself is a quiet act
of resilience, and as he once said, the group activities

(07:04):
and support from his members have helped ease his depression.
But not every tragedy happens in the spotlight, as some
never even make it that far. The K pop industry
is scary and unforgiving and has unfortunately cost a lot
of lives. Many idols tragically ended their lives due to
the relentless harassment and pressure they faced on Sojin is
a less known victim of the harsh realities of the industry,

(07:25):
but her story is just as important. Sojin was known
as a contestant on The Kara Project, which was a
survival show featuring the girl group Kara and was broadcast
on NBC Music in twenty fourteen. The program aimed to
find a new member of Kara among the DSP Media's
trainees after Nicole and g Young had left the group.
With only three members left, the company couldn't afford to
disband the group at their peak, so instead they decided

(07:47):
to make their trainees compete for a spot. The show itself,
especially compared to other survival shows that are airing today,
was pretty boring and uneventful. The contestants had to complete
five missions and perform different Kra songs live on stage,
with the judges giving their evaluation afterward. But even though
to viewers this was just another survival show, for these girls,
it was the last chance to debut, so the competition

(08:09):
was brutal. Behind the scenes, they all stood out with
their talents and skills, but unfortunately, only one trainee would
get chosen to debut in the group. The original plan
was to add two members so they could fill out
the two spots left by Nicole and Jinjung, but in
the end, the company decided to go with just one trainee,
and Sojin was one of the seven DSP Media trainees
to compete in the show. She was the oldest contestant

(08:31):
among the trainees at only twenty two years old. Before
Kara Project, she participated in Superstar k one, but she
had plans to debut in a DSP Media group as
she had been part of the company as a trainee.

Speaker 2 (08:42):
For five years.

Speaker 1 (08:43):
However, her father was very vocal about how little he
supported Sojan's dreams of becoming a k pop idol, which
added even more pressure on her to do well and
eventually debut in Kara. At first, things seemed to have
been going well since the beginning. She and Somin, who
would end up debuting in April, were among the favorite
can testins. Sojin was really mature and bubbly, and she
had never failed to lift everyone's spirits. She was also

(09:05):
given a leadership position early on since she was the
eldest trainee, but even though it was a burden, Sojoan
never let it show as she kept going on with
the same enthusiasm. She was a winner in everyone's eyes
from early on. She was talented, charming, and had visuals
that would match the rest of the Kara members. Considering
all this, imagine everyone's surprise when Ho young g was
crowned as the winner and was the trainee who ended

(09:26):
up joining Kara. This was a heartbreaking moment for Sojoin
that shattered her dreams. Young G's win was controversial in
a lot of ways, and there were a lot of
theories about it. She wasn't a part of the first
two episodes due to health reasons, so people felt like
her spot as number one was undeserving despite her talent
and charm. Some believed she shouldn't have won because she
missed the first two episodes, unlike the other trainees who

(09:47):
had been there for all six. However, some said that
this had happened because DSP media didn't want the new
member to possibly overshadow the current Kara members, and both
Sojoan and Soman had a fandom of their own at
that point. Because of this, the public thought that Yungji
was chosen to join the group because she wouldn't be
as popular as Guri, Sung Yon and Hara and the
group would still be complete. There were also rumors that

(10:09):
her family was rich, but what mattered was that she
was the one to debute, with Soman coming in second
place and Sojourn coming in third. After the show was over,
the contestants went their separate ways. Soman, who came in second,
debuted as a member of April in twenty fifteen, but
then left to debut as a part of Card in
twenty seventeen. Chay One, who got fourth place, also debuted
in April and was a part of the group until

(10:29):
their disbandment. Sheik Jung, the trainee who placed fifth, did
a lot before finally debuting in April. She took part
in Produce one oh one before debuting as part of
the project groups Siva and Ibi in twenty sixteen. Then
in twenty seventeen, she debuted in April. She Yun, who
came in sixth also competed in Produced one oh one,
and Yuji debuted as part of Apple B after leaving
DSP Media, and once the group disbanded, she debuted in

(10:51):
so do ie. Looking at how their careers unfolded after
the Kara Projects, we can assume that most of the
participants were dealt with a bad hand. All the April
members were involved in the mistreatment scandals and have been
trying to rebuild their careers ever since. However, Sojin unfortunately
had the most tragic end of all of them. One
of the biggest concerns of Sojin throughout the show was

(11:11):
her age. Even though she was only twenty two, she
was the eldest of the trainees and had been there
for five long years waiting for the company to finally
put her on stage so she could show what she
worked towards all these years. And she had a lot
to show too, as her skills were only enhanced and
improved during the Kara Project. However, she was unfortunately considered
too old to debut, even though she was very young,

(11:32):
as the average debuting age was eighteen to nineteen. Because
of this, Kara Project was kind of an all or
nothing deal for her. Either she would debut in this group,
which would open the doors for her idle career, or
she would fail and all the time, money, and effort
she had put into debuting would go down the drain.
Watching friends and fellow trainees progress in their lives by debuting, graduating,
or finding jobs only added more stress onto Sojan's plate.

(11:54):
After five years as a trainee and her father's disapproval
of her career choice, the show's conclusion with her placing third,
not even second, felt like her world had come crumbling down.
Fans and viewers were still hopeful about both her and
Soman if they didn't end up debuting in Kara. There
were still hopes that they would debut in a new
girl group, or that DSP Media would form a group
just to include the trainees that didn't make it.

Speaker 2 (12:15):
It made sense.

Speaker 1 (12:16):
They had built an audience and fan base through the show,
shown their skills, and proven themselves to be worthy of
an idle career. Even if DSP Media didn't want to
debut her, there was probably some other company that would
be desperate to get her hands on her and debut
her in their new group. But everyone was expecting her
to be a member or even the leader of April,
and as you may know, this never ended up happening.
In January of twenty fifteen, a few months after the

(12:39):
show came to an end, Sojoan left DSP Media without
much noise. It was said that she went back home
after the show ended, but overall there was no official
announcement on her departure, nor was it ever revealed what
happened for her to leave. DSP said that they came
to a mutual agreement to end her contract, but the
general consensus is that the company terminated her contract without notice,
a decision which was seen as questionable. Since sojoin was

(13:02):
there for so long, you would think that DSP would
know what they would be doing with her. While it's
acknowledged that the industry is harsh and unforgiving and not
all trainees' debut, dedicating five years to a company should
count for something. Keeping her there for an extended period,
making her participate in the show, and having her build
a potential fan base, only to terminate her contract seemed
like a problematic decision, and it was Sojan's last straw.

(13:24):
According to her friends, she had been suffering from depression
for some time at that point, so the termination of
her contract completely destroyed her. She blamed herself for not
coming in first on the show and convinced herself that
the Kara Project was her last chance to debut so
On February twenty fifth, twenty fifteen, only a month after
the termination.

Speaker 2 (13:41):
Of her contract, Sojin took her own life.

Speaker 1 (13:43):
Reports state that Sojin was discovered unconscious in a garden
in front of her apartment complex. Even though she was
sent to the hospital immediately and the medical staff did
their best to save her, she did not make it.
The police suspected that she jumped from the tenth floor
of the apartment, but urged the public not to make
any assumptions on why.

Speaker 2 (13:59):
She chose to do this.

Speaker 1 (14:01):
This case is still known to be one of the
most tragic ones, as Sojourn was so young, full of
hope and life. Just reading the things that her label
mates said about her can bring you to tears and
shed a light to a terrible aspect of the industry.
Idols have been debuting young since the dawn of time.
Icon Boa debuted when she was only thirteen, Shiny's Taman,
FX's Crystal Huna, Iveswejung and nct's g Sung all debuted

(14:23):
when they were fourteen, and BTS's Juncook and Red velvets
Yery debuted when they were only fifteen. However, nowadays, despite
the overall criticism, the age at which idols are debuting
is decreasing severely. For male idols, it's more ideal for
the company to debute them when they're younger due to
the fact that they have to enlist at some point.
Female idols encounter a challenge seemingly worse than military obligations agism.

(14:45):
In the entertainment industry, women are often viewed as outdated
by the age of thirty, and in K pop, female
idols are deemed to be past their prime by twenty five. Therefore,
debuting when they're younger allows them about ten years before
being labeled as too old, making it a more appear
healing prospect for companies. So, despite the fact that Sohman
was literally just starting her life and was very young,

(15:05):
she still felt like her career was over just because
she couldn't debut at twenty two. Her unfortunate and tragic
passing should have served as a warning to the industry
when it comes to considering human beings as disposable, yet
no changes have been made. Just how many people need
to lose their lives just because the industry refuses to
change their ways, And sometimes it's not just the idols
whose lives are at risk.

Speaker 3 (15:26):
The victims of Friday's accident least.

Speaker 2 (15:28):
Sixteen people watching and seven hundred people attending a pop
concert that was.

Speaker 3 (15:32):
Performanced by a popular girl band Four Minute.

Speaker 1 (15:35):
When on October seventeenth, twenty fourteen, the members of four
Minutes started to perform at a small concert in Solmann,
they had no idea that the beautiful night would turn
into the most tragic.

Speaker 2 (15:49):
Moment of their career.

Speaker 1 (15:51):
Sixteen people who came to cheer for the group fell
into a shaft, and none of them made it out alive.
This tragic incident marked the history of K pop forever.

Speaker 2 (15:59):
How it happened.

Speaker 1 (16:00):
The tragedy took place in sul Nam, a place south
of Seoul, on October seventeenth, twenty fourteen. The special small
concert of four Minute was held as a part of
a festival at pan Yo Techno Valley. At the place
of the concert, there was a ventilation shaft covered by
a grate, which became the main cause of this tragedy.
The concert had just started, but the fans a four
Minute tried to see the girls perform from a better angle,

(16:20):
so they got up on the shaft, which was a
bit raised and provided them with a better view. At
first it was just a few fans, but then from
seven hundred people, about thirty fans climbed up the shaft
and eagerly.

Speaker 3 (16:31):
Watched four minute perform.

Speaker 1 (16:32):
Unfortunately, as the dedicated fans danced along and jumped to
the beat of the music, the grate covering the shaft
let loose and these fans fell through around five pm.
They fell down three floors, and most of them took
their last breath that very second. One fan, who witnessed
the whole tragedy, spoke to reporters and shared, there was
a sudden, loud screaming and when I turned, it looked
as if people were being sucked down into a hole.

(16:54):
In pictures from before the accident, you can see that
the grate covering the shaft was already getting loose and
bending down as more people got on top of it.
Although many reports from the day of the incident claimed
that there were from twenty to thirty people standing on it,
the fact which is a Korean media outlet, reported that
twenty five people fell through the shaft. What comes as
an even greater surprise is that four minute and most

(17:14):
of the fans present at the concert had no clue
that the incident happened. Cube Entertainment, which was a label
of Four Minute, released an official statement regarding the situation,
in which they claimed there was no way to measure
the amount of grief in our hearts. The members and
the staff did not know what had happened during their
performance and only learned of the incident on their way
back to Seoul. We hope no more people get hurt
because of this incident. At the time of this statement,

(17:37):
sixteen people lost their lives, suit of them falling down
the shaft, and ten people were seriously injured. Out of
those sixteen lives, twelve of them were lost immediately after
the fall, two while being transferred to hospital, and two
while receiving medical treatment in the hospital. To say that
this was devastating is an understatement, because this accident occurred
only six months after the Saywall Ferry tragedy, which cost

(17:58):
hundreds of lives of young people. Can only imagine how
shocked the Korean nation was when another accident happened.

Speaker 2 (18:04):
Who is to blame?

Speaker 1 (18:05):
Immediately after the tragic incident occurred, everybody wanted to know
who's to blame and why this happened in the first place. Well,
to understand the situation, we need to look at it
from different angles. First, the fans were not supposed to
climb the shaft, as it was naturally a health hazard.
But as we all know, the power of crowds is
a real thing, and when one fan does something, more
are to follow. That's how twenty six people ended up

(18:27):
standing on the shaft. But this is exactly the reason
why there are many members of security present at concerts,
because every performer and organizer knows that fans can do
crazy things just to get closer to their favorite idols
or see them better. Well, as it turns out, in
this case, the security was really lacking. When the witnesses
from the incident spoke to the media, they shared that
there were no security guards present and that there was

(18:49):
also no fencing or warning signs that would let people
know that they cannot get up on the grate covering
the vent. An eyewitness who was near the shaft when
it happened shaired many people on the vent gratings were
chanted and dancing to the music. I was worried about
their safety, but there were no security guards around. However,
there were some statements from the organizers who claimed that
there were guards.

Speaker 3 (19:08):
Who warned people.

Speaker 1 (19:09):
One Nedison wrote, this is tragic, but I really feel
sorry for the usher slash staff that apparently tried to
stop people from doing that. But this is contradictory to
the statement of the eyewitnesses. You'll and hob News investigated
the incident a bit more and when it happened, they shared,
if it turns out that safety regulations were ignored, we
would bring criminal.

Speaker 2 (19:27):
Charges against them.

Speaker 1 (19:28):
Apparently, the reason why the fans a four Minute ended
up going up the vent wasn't only because they wanted
a better view. The thing is is that the organizers
of the concert provided fans with only four hundred places
to sit on, and the rest three hundred people had
to either squeeze together or somehow find a place to
stand at and so they found the great covering the
ventilation shaft, which in fact led to an underground garage.

(19:50):
After the tragic incident, the organizers of the concert were
obviously questioned not only by the media reporters but also
by the police. The whole country tried to find out
what truly happened that day at five pm, while Four
Minute were performing, but as the safety regulations were broken
and people suffered to the point of losing their lives,
the organizers didn't know how to react. The government official

(20:10):
who was in charge of the safety regulations of the
event ended up jumping from a ten story building, which
obviously resulted in him passing away. He left a goodbye
note to his family and to the public, in which
he wrote, I'm sorry for the victims, Please take good
care of my children. This tragic incident once again underlined
and highlighted South Korea's bad safety regulations, and it put

(20:30):
pressure on the government to finally treat people's lives with
respect and pay more attention to safety. Not only that,
but many people found the situation hauntingly similar to the
Saywell Ferry tragedy. In fact, the chairman of the company
that owned the ferry and was responsible for safety regulations
was also found unconscious at his home after the tragedy happened,
so the situation was almost parallel to the Four Minute

(20:51):
Concert accident. The response from the public was truly heavy
the aftermath. We've talked about the number of casualties and
what happened to the organizer, but what about four Minute Obviously,
the members of the group felt extremely guilty for what happened,
and especially for the fact that they were unaware that
this tragic accident took place while they were performing. Since
they wanted to show their condolences and respect for the victims,

(21:13):
the members canceled their scheduled activities at the time and
other appearances that they had planned. For example, Guy You
and and Hana were invited to various fashion events and
fashion shows as a part of Soul Fashion Week, but
they both decided not to attend and think about what happened.

Speaker 3 (21:27):
A culture critic Beck gug.

Speaker 1 (21:28):
Nam spoke on this incident and said four Minute members
are also partly victims of this tragedy, who would have
known that they would suffer such an extreme level of trauma.
All we fans in media need to do is pay
more attention to them and give them a warm hand.
Fans of the group showed their support for the members
by writing comments and leaving them positive messages on their
social media accounts. One medicine wrote, Salwall disaster happened because

(21:50):
people listened, Pungyo happened because people didn't listen, and another
one shared four Minute must be feeling guilty for no reason.
Of course, this accident opened a heated debate a monkey
pop fans all over the world, not only in South Korea.
Many blame the fans a four minute for making the
unreasonable decision of standing on the grate.

Speaker 3 (22:07):
But as I mentioned.

Speaker 1 (22:08):
Earlier in the video, that's why there's always security at concerts,
so they can warn fans from doing something that could
result in serious injuries or other problems. One user on
Reddit sympathized with the victims and wrote, I can't even
begin to imagine their last moments. No one deserves to
go like this, let alone sixteen people rest in peace.
The incident actually opened a long needed conversation about safety

(22:29):
regulations at concerts in South Korea. The Korea Times published
an article regarding the situation, and the author mentions two
other cases when South Korea witnessed incidents like this at concerts.
They talk about a nineteen ninety two accident when a
teenager was crushed by sixty people at the performance of
New Kids.

Speaker 3 (22:45):
On the Block.

Speaker 1 (22:46):
Another case they mentioned is a nineteen ninety six passing
of a person who was also crushed by a crowd
of five thousand people who wanted to get front seats
at an FM radio show in theygu But the discussion
regarding the hazards continued among fans as there were people
who claimed, yea, the government isn't.

Speaker 2 (23:01):
Solely to blame for this.

Speaker 1 (23:02):
One user wrote, I don't think it's entirely private business
and the government's fault. People in Korea also don't seem
to care much about their own safety. Smoking is still
ridiculously popular. People don't wear seatbelts, They leave no space
in crowds, leaving a huge potential for someone to get crushed.
It's hard to judge the people who suffered from this accident,
but it's important to say that the South Korean government

(23:22):
has since tried.

Speaker 3 (23:23):
To enforce stronger safety regulations.

Speaker 1 (23:25):
When the incident happened, many K pop fans pointed out
that twenty fourteen was truly a horrible year for kpop,
but not only that, it was also a tragic year
for Korea in general, as many devastating events happened that
changed the country's attitude forever. But the heartbreak didn't end
there is. What happened next shook the entire industry. The
accident that happened to ladies code shock the world of

(23:46):
kpop as their car slipped while they were returning from
an event. Two members ended up losing their lives and
the remaining three are still left with the traumatizing memories.
For all of you that don't know, Ladies Code are
a group group that are under Polaris Entertainment. They debuted
into twenty thirteen with Bad Girl, and the original lineup
consisted of five members Ashley, dyse Unbi, Soltong and Duni.

(24:06):
Though their success didn't compare to that of the groups
that debuted at the same time, their releases still did
pretty well and they were respected in the industry.

Speaker 3 (24:14):
Then something horrible happened.

Speaker 1 (24:16):
On September third, twenty fourteen, Polaris Entertainment released a statement
about the members of Ladies Code getting into a car accident.
The statement explained that they were on the way back
to Seoul after attending the recording of the KBS Open
concert at DJIST as it was their last schedule of
the Kiss Kiss promotions. Inside the van were the five members,
the road manager mister Puck, who was also driving the vehicle,

(24:37):
one of their managers, and one of their stylists. Near Suwan,
the back wheel of the car slipped off. To make
things worse, the road was wet because of the rain,
and this caused the car to tumble. The car rolled
several times and hit the road divider, which caused a
lot of damage to the roof and the side of
the car. If that wasn't enough, the police, Highway Patrol
and the Road Traffic Authority reported that the car was

(24:57):
speeding by over thirty kilometers per hour above the s
feed limit in the Yongdong Expressway. There were suspicions that
the car carrying the members and the staff had a
problem with the back tire, as it was suspected that
it had fallen off, or at least this is what
the manager of the girls, who was only referred to
as Puck, had claimed when he was questioned by the police. However,
the police concluded that the back tire had fallen off

(25:18):
because of the accident and was not the cause of it.
There were also rumors that the accident was caused by
sausag fans. There's an infamous saucing fan known as Gimiltin
or mostly referred to as Selja, who was known for
allegedly harming idols in various ways. It was rumored that
she poisoned Bap seme ton and put glue in Dolbang.

Speaker 2 (25:35):
Shinghi's yunh Host drink.

Speaker 1 (25:36):
There were rumors that Selja had also predicted that a
popular Korean celebrity would pass away in twenty fourteen, and
some even link the accident to her. However, all the
accusations against her are rumors, and especially the Lady Code
accident won so take these rumors with a grain of salt.
The main cause of the crash was concluded to be
going over the speed limit. Polaris Entertainment also revealed that

(25:56):
the airbag and the driver and passenger seat were not open,
and that none of the members were wearing seat belts.
After the police investigation, mister Pop was arrested in November
of twenty fourteen for causing the accident and eventually confessed
to speeding. He also shared that he had called emergency
services immediately after the accident happened. Mister Pop was sentenced
to a year and two months in prison for causing

(26:17):
the crash, as he had failed to reach an agreement
with the family of the deceased before the trial took place. Therefore,
the guilty verdict was handed down. Unfortunately, the accident ended
up taking lives. Member Unbe passed away at the scene,
as it was announced by the company a few hours
after the crash took place. She wasn't wearing a seat
belt when the car slipped. According to eyewitnesses, Unby was
taken to the hospital after the accident happened, but unfortunately

(26:40):
passed away as her injuries were too severe for her
to survive.

Speaker 3 (26:43):
Other members also got injured.

Speaker 1 (26:45):
Thankfully, Ashley and Sony only sustained minor injuries, but the
others weren't as lucky. At the time, Dsa was unconscious
and in the ICU because of her critical condition. Souljong
was also under critical condition, but regained consciousness and underwent
surgery for the facial fracture that were caused by the accident.
Polaris Entertainment said Soljong is recovering well from the surgery.
When her condition improved, she will leave the hospital, but

(27:07):
for the time being, she will be treated here. The
agency also refrained from telling her about Umbe's passing until
she was stabilized because they didn't want to worsen her condition.
So Ashley and Jouni were the only ladies code members
present at Umbee's funeral, though, she picked up on what
was happening as she kept seeing family and staff members
going around her in mourning attire. She even asked why
does everyone keep wearing black? Eventually she found out about

(27:30):
umbe passing away by looking at the news on her phone.
Ashley and Juni were the only ones who stood bit
Lumby's mother's side throughout the service and hugged her when
she was crying. There were many idols present at the
service and others expressed their condolences. It was later confirmed
that Umby wasn't removed from the vehicle when the accident happened.
Fire department officials stated there were three girls, Ashley Junie's

(27:51):
staff members standing outside the vehicle and three girls who
were in the vehicle unconscious.

Speaker 3 (27:55):
Umbi dise Soldong, they.

Speaker 1 (27:57):
Say, was bleeding from her head and had external injuries
to face. The situation was extremely chaotic, with Dsay not
breathing or having a pulse. We were forced to perform
CPR on her right away. The bad news didn't stop
after that. On September seventh, twenty fourteen, it was reported
that ds had also passed away. She had an emergency
brain surgery after the accident and had been unconscious since.

(28:18):
Polaris Entertainment said that because of DS's head injury, she
was moved to the hospital and received surgery, but ultimately
passed away. She had two funerals. One was held in
Soul Memorial Park, South Korea on September ninth, twenty fourteen,
and was attended by many idols. After the first funeral,
Dsay's body was cremated and then taken back to Japan
for the second funeral that was held only for family

(28:38):
and close friends.

Speaker 3 (28:39):
One of the most.

Speaker 1 (28:40):
Heartbreaking things about this was that Umbi and DS were
very close. At the dinner that took place the night
of the accident, Umbia was joking around and said, we
did well. Right even after this album, Lady's Code will continue.
No one will give up and say I'm fine, thank you.
It's not our last night, right, Lady's Code fighting. Another
devastating thing is that on August twelfth, twenty fourteen, DS

(29:00):
talked to her fans on her Twitter account. A fan
asked which member of Ladies Code would you rather leave
with you and feel very comfortable with, to which DS
responded Umbi a year after the accident happened.

Speaker 3 (29:10):
On August twenty second, twenty.

Speaker 1 (29:12):
Fifteen, Ladies Code held a memorial concert in Japan to
honor DS in Unbe. This was because before passing away,
the two deceased members were hoping to perform in Japan,
a dream that was never achieved. This was the first
appearance of the members ever since the accident. Along with Ashley, Sultong,
Duni Yongdong, Mun Sonu, Rumblefish, and Hanhi Dun also performed
at the concert. The concert also marked the first performance

(29:34):
of I Will Smile Even If It Hurts All, a
tribute song to the deceased members that was released on
September seventh, the day that DS passed away. All proceedings
from the concert went towards a memorial project and other
charity activities. The member spoke about the accident for the
first time in twenty nineteen and how it affected them.
They appeared in an episode of Channel a's Eye Contact,
where Ashley and Juni invited Sultong to discuss the accident

(29:56):
and how it affected Soljong's birthday, which unfortunately was.

Speaker 3 (29:59):
On the ste day of the accident.

Speaker 1 (30:01):
Ashley explained that they talked about Unby and DSA amongst themselves,
but have never spoken about what happened on the day
of the tragic accident. Soljung then shared in a private interview,
after we did a broadcast that day, we went somewhere
pretty far away to do an event. She started explaining
that it had rained a lot that day and everyone
had been pretty tired. They stopped somewhere to rest and
Soljong went to the bathroom, but once she came out,

(30:22):
the member surprised her with a cake made of choco
pies with birthday candles on top. They sang to her
and then apologized because they had limited chances of what
to do for her birthday.

Speaker 3 (30:31):
Soljong continued, I told.

Speaker 1 (30:32):
Them it was okay because we were busy, and then
I got in and we drove off. We were so tired,
so I fell asleep on the way. To be honest,
that's my last memory of that. I think I was
probably taken to the hospital.

Speaker 3 (30:43):
Then.

Speaker 1 (30:43):
Souljung then went on to explain how she had been
injured and how she and Ashley had found out about
what had happened through the news and started crying. Soljong
teared up as she recalled how nobody let her know
what was happening and how that caused her great pain.
To make things even sadder, she revealed that the members
didn't eat the birthday cake they made for her becase
because of their diets, and how they wish that they
had shared the cake together. The accident happening on her

(31:04):
birthday affected her greatly and she hasn't celebrated it since.
Soljong said, after that day, I didn't think of September
third as my birthday.

Speaker 2 (31:12):
It wasn't a.

Speaker 1 (31:12):
Day for me to be congratulated. It would be strange
to go see Unbi in the morning and then have
a birthday party in the evening, wouldn't it.

Speaker 2 (31:19):
The girls went on about.

Speaker 1 (31:20):
How they couldn't quite accept that the members were gone
and how they felt like they had just gone on holiday,
but the thing was very real and they couldn't even
record or perform the songs the five of them had
performed together without tearing up. They ended the interview by
tearfully promising that they'd talk more about the accident in
the future in order to move on. The accident is
still one of the most tragic things that has ever
happened in K pop, and the members are still affected,

(31:42):
so I hope that they get to live the rest
of their lives in peace and slowly move on. They've
been through so much already, But tragedy in K pop
doesn't always mean loss of life. Sometimes it's a different
kind of destruction. At the peak of her career, bet
tiong was one of the most popular idols in the industry.
She made her debut back in nineteen ninety nine with
her first album, Sorrow in the title track Choice, which

(32:03):
basically paved the way for K pop songs using Latino beats.
Following the success of her first album, she was quick
to release her second studio album the following year. Rouge,
was an instant hit and managed to sell three hundred
and sixty thousand copies in South Korea, cementing her name
as one of the top singers in the industry when
her career had just begun. She had a charming style
that felt fresh to the audiences and impressive vocals.

Speaker 2 (32:26):
That made her listeners go crazy.

Speaker 1 (32:27):
Her insane vocal abilities combined with her image, put her
into the spotlight, and despite all the backlash that she got,
she still rose to the top. Beck Gione kept releasing
hit after hit, and her popularity only kept growing. The
song she released for the original soundtrack of the drama
Secret Garden, titled The Woman is what spread her popularity
throughout Asia. It won the audiences hard and made them

(32:48):
tune into the drama, winning Outstanding Korean Drama OST at
the twenty eleven Sole International Drama Awards. She released numerous
soundtracks for Korean dramas like Love and Love, Rudo and
The Magistrate, Don't Forget Iris, and much more. This dubbed
her the OST Queen as people loved hearing her voice
whenever they were watching a new drama, and so did
she Dieong said, I love to participate in producing music

(33:10):
for soaps if I liked the female lead after reading
the script. It's a thrill to hear my song played
during melodramatic moments and soaps. She also won multiple awards
like the Bone Song from SBS guy Adadon Soul Music
Awards and Golden Disc Awards.

Speaker 2 (33:23):
She also won.

Speaker 1 (33:24):
Awards for Best Female Artist and Best OST at the
MNA Asian Music Awards, alongside many other awards and nominations. However,
her rising success came to a halt in two thousand.
In November of two thousand, just a year after her debut,
pet Geong was hit with one of the biggest scandals
in the.

Speaker 2 (33:40):
History of the K pop industry.

Speaker 1 (33:42):
A video of her having inappropriate relations with her then
manager and boyfriend Games She Won hit the internet on
November nineteenth, and due to her rising fame, it instantly
went viral, even with the limited resources.

Speaker 2 (33:53):
They had at the time.

Speaker 1 (33:54):
A tech student managed to hack the website where the
tape was originally uploaded and found out that at one
point was distributed over two hundred thousand times in a
single day. This made it accessible to nearly anyone who
wanted to find it. Deeong's career looked like it was
over at the snap of a finger. As soon as
the video was leaked, the radios pulled her songs off
the air, and every variety show she was scheduled to

(34:15):
appear on was canceled to deal with the scandal.

Speaker 2 (34:17):
Deong first denied.

Speaker 1 (34:19):
That she was the woman pictured in the video, but
the public couldn't forgive her so easily.

Speaker 2 (34:23):
SPS did somehow manage.

Speaker 1 (34:25):
To get a hold of Games He Won Geong's manager
over the phone, even though he was deemed Unreachable, where
he confessed that the video.

Speaker 3 (34:31):
Was genuine and he was the guy in it.

Speaker 1 (34:33):
He said that the two were dating at the time
of the filming, and he also had plans to marry her.
According to games he won. The footage was shot in
his office in October nineteen ninety eight, though he didn't
give a reason why. He also told SBS viewers that
Dione was aware that she was being filmed, claiming we
watched it together afterward and enjoyed it.

Speaker 2 (34:50):
Some members of.

Speaker 1 (34:51):
The public, even though small in number, seriously doubted that
though seeing us multiple times during the clip, he pulls
down the sheets to make sure that the camera he
set up gets a clear shitt out of Diong. He
also shared that he didn't share the clip, though he
failed to disclose who did, as to why he didn't
delete the footage right away, especially knowing that Diong didn't
consent to being filmed. Pike, a former sitcom writer, claimed

(35:12):
that it's normal for managers and producers to make aspiring
celebrities films such a video so that they can use
it as blackmail in case the woman tries to dump
them after she makes it big. The interview made everyone
seek out the video, to the point that the South
Korean Ministry of Information and Communication had to step in
to stop distribution. At the time, Dieong had to temporarily
flee to Guam so she could escape all the harassment

(35:33):
that she was getting from the media and the public
over something that was done without her consent. The post
from nedicines were also pretty unhinged, as they read, is
bet Dieong a call girl who gave up being a
decent human being? But if Diong proved one thing, she
is not one to be messed with and wouldn't just
sit and take criticism over something that wasn't her fault
in the first place. On November twenty nine, she held
a press conference where she apologized for the incident.

Speaker 2 (35:55):
She sobbed and cried.

Speaker 1 (35:56):
Uncontrollably during the conference, but made sure to let everyone
know that she she was not the guilty party in
the whole ordeal. She denounced her former manager and strongly
denied the fact that she knew that she was being filmed.
Diong also made it clear that she sees herself as
the victim, which also made her hire a lawyer. She
also vowed to continue singing if a single fan wants
me to, and said, I decided to come forward to

(36:17):
tell the truth to prevent other women from becoming victims
like me. Her attorney, Toeitounjuan also said, I don't think
she did anything wrong. Yes, public figures have to maintain
a high moral standard, but we can't expect their moral
standards to be higher than the general public. The interview
caused another wave of uproar from the public, as they
weren't used to women protecting their innocence so publicly. First
and foremost, this incident brought to light the dark sides

(36:40):
of the industry, which had higher ups making up and
coming idols and celebrities performed favors to move ahead in
their career, and Jale's video was an example of this.
The first half of the clip, which was apparently shot
two years before the video saw the light, shows her
nervously practicing imaginary media interviews under the direction of games
she won. In the second half, they're seen having inappropriate relations,

(37:00):
but this wasn't obvious to the public. A big chunk
of public opinion believed that not only did Yeong know
that she was being filmed, but that the tape was
her idea so that she could reach career peaks and
blackmail the manager to her own advantage when necessary. And
while Gio was shedding tears at her press conference trying
to prove that she was only a mere victim of
the industry's dirty tactics to take advantage of young women,

(37:20):
the man who caused her career to go downhill in
a matter of seconds fled to the US, getting away
with the scandal without a scratch, while leaving Gieong to
deal with.

Speaker 2 (37:28):
Everything on her own.

Speaker 1 (37:29):
The fact that she was so determined in her fight
against someone who had violated her trust and privacy made
her the representative face of feminist movements.

Speaker 2 (37:36):
In South Korea.

Speaker 1 (37:37):
She was also supported by different activist groups. The spokeswoman
for the Women's Association PACTO Kilong spoke up about the
issues standing beside Beckdiong. She questioned society and said why
is it that women actresses and singers are expected to
be squeaky clean, while the same standards don't apply to
their male counterparts. Jeong's attorney, Teutung Juan also called out
the hypocrisy of the Korean society, as he said everybody

(38:00):
criticized the couple for having filmed the video, but everyone
was rushing to see it. If you hadn't seen the tape,
you couldn't have a conversation with anyone in Seul. Thankfully,
according to a report from the Soul District Prosecutor's office
from January two thousand and one, it was proven that
Deong wasn't at fault. They said that she was filmed
without her knowledge in December nineteen ninety eight, and the
video was distributed after she canceled her contract with her manager.

(38:22):
The prosecutor suspected that the manager shared the video so
he could earn money and get out of the financial difficulties.
They also said that it was possible that the video
was made to blackmail Dealong or to extort money from her.
Based on their announcement. The manager went to the United
States with his accomplices in November two thousand and sold
the video for twenty dollars on an Internet site. However,
despite the report and the support that she was getting,

(38:43):
Dealm stayed hidden for the following three years. She did
manage to make a successful comeback to the industry and
amazed people with her Heavenly Vocals Sweeping award after award too,
but the time that she stayed hidden was pretty hard,
according to her. On an episode of Stargazing which aired
in June of twenty fourteen, Jone talked about a fan
meeting that she held after the scandal. She talked about
how difficult it was to deal with the scandal for

(39:05):
her and her fans, saying that she held a fan
meeting for the ones still standing beside her. She had
to hold her fan meeting in a mountainous area which
was so dark that people couldn't see each other's faces
without a cell phone light. She said, at the time,
I really wanted to do the fan meeting because I
couldn't see my fans any other way. I couldn't hold
the meeting openly because I didn't want other people to
find out that the fans were my fans. I was

(39:27):
worried that they would be criticized.

Speaker 3 (39:28):
Because of me.

Speaker 1 (39:29):
A longtime fan of hers who also appeared on the
show added, the fans didn't cry then we all held
it in. She acted so bright so we couldn't cry.
We all cried after she left. Diomi expressed her gratitude
to her fans who stuck beside her through everything. Saying
that everyone who showed up gave her a lot of hope.
The scandal thankfully ended on a happy note. Deeong built
her name from scratch and now lives a happy life

(39:49):
alongside her husband, Dong Suquan. Her career also keeps thriving
to this day, twenty four years after her debut, as
she's still known as one of the golden voices of
South Korea. On the other hand, her purpotry writer Game
she Won was arrested in twenty twelve in Los Angeles
as he had inappropriate relations with a minor and film
the whole thing. He went to jail, and even though
we don't know how long he served a sentence, it's

(40:10):
pretty satisfactory that he got what he deserved for what
he did.

Speaker 2 (40:13):
A big deal and when.

Speaker 1 (40:15):
A fan crosses the line, the consequences can be horrifying.
Mayo Tolmita getting attacked by a psychotic fan and suffering
dozens of wounds is one of the most extreme cases
involving saucang fans. Unfortunately, the police did absolutely nothing, leaving
Mayo fearing for her life. At the time of the attack,
Mayo Tolmito was just twenty years old, and she was
already known in the entertainment industry. She was mainly known

(40:37):
for her vibrant personality and her talent. Her first time
on screen as an actress was in twenty eleven in
a web drama called Secret Girls, and she also became
a member of the girl group of the same name.
They appeared at various music events and were always warmly
welcomed by the public. Mayo then started slowly building a
loyal following while doing all of her singer and actress activities.
Maya was also a third year student at Asia University,

(41:00):
where she was majoring in business, so she already had
a lot on her plate, but her life was about
to become much more difficult. It was May twenty first,
twenty sixteen, and Mayo was waiting to perform at a
concert venue in Kogae, Tokyo. Mayo didn't get to step
on the stage and perform that night because she was
soon attacked by a man called Tomohidro Iywazaki. Tomohidro was
seven or six years older than Mayu, born in nineteen

(41:21):
eighty eight or nineteen eighty nine. He became a huge
fan of Mayo after he saw some of her shows
and fell for her charming personality. It seems like he
felt too hard because it didn't take long for his
admiration to turn into an obsession. Tomohito had a tendency
to become infatuated with celebrities, as he was once in
love with model Ai Hashimoto, but lost interest in her
after she publicly revealed that she regularly watched Japanese avs.

(41:44):
Tomohito then went to his blog where he declared that
women who watch or appear in such movies should end
their lives. This comes off as very ironic, considering Tomohito
appeared in an avy himself. Tomohito was described as unskilled
in expressing his emotions by his older brother, who added
that he still had that gentle childlike nature. According to
his brother, Tomohito didn't have a lot of friends.

Speaker 3 (42:05):
That he would know of.

Speaker 1 (42:06):
As the obsessed fan that he was, Tomohito spent most
of his time declaring his love to Mayu, sending her gifts,
and bombarding her with messages on social media before the
attack took place. This was exactly what Mayo complained about
to the police. Mayu reported that she had received around
one hundred and forty messages from Tomohito, including ones that
threatened her life after she rejected his marriage proposal and

(42:27):
decided to return the gifts that he sent her. Other
sources say that the number of messages Mayu received from
Tomohito is even bigger, and that it was actually over
four hundred. Even though Mayu blocked Tomohito on Twitter, she
still didn't feel safe enough, so she decided to report
the incident to the police. That was twelve days before
the attack. Mayo contacted the police station near her home
in Musa Shino, Tokyo, hearing for her safety, but the

(42:49):
police dismissed the case as they believed that hateful social
media messages doesn't count as an immediate threat. Additionally, the
anti stocking laws in Japan didn't include harassment on social
media at the time of my Mineyu's attack. The whole
thing could have been easily prevented if the police did
the right thing. It's truly baffling that the police didn't
think the situation was serious, considering how vulgar and hateful

(43:09):
Tomohito's messages to Mayu were. Tomohedro decided to confront Mayo
in person about the returned gifts. He waited for her
by the venue where Mayo was scheduled to perform later
that evening. Tomohedo asked her why she didn't accept the
gifts that he gave her, but Mayo didn't give him
a clear explanation. This drove Tomahito over the edge and
he completely lost control. When Mayo turned around, he pulled
out a knife and stabbed her sixty one times from behind,

(43:32):
mainly in the chest and neck area. Eyewitnesses called the
police an ambulance after they heard Mayu screaming for help.
She was rushed to the hospital and Tomohito was arrested
at the scene. When Tomohitro was in police custody, he
told them that he intended to get rid of Mayou
and that the whole attack was premeditated. It was also
revealed that when Mayo called the police before the attack,
the emergency dispatcher sent the police officers to her home

(43:54):
instead of sending them to her by tracing the location
of her cell phone. While Tomohito was being interrogated at
the police station and Mayo was at the hospital in
critical condition. Miraculously, Mayo didn't sustain any damage to her
vital Organs, but the injuries were so severe that she
was in a coma for two weeks. The majority of
her wounds were on Mayo's face, neck, back, and arms.
Her left eye was injured as well, and she became

(44:15):
partially blinded. For a long time, she couldn't use her
fingers and was dependent on the help of others. Mayo
regained consciousness in June of twenty sixteen, and even though
her physical condition was slowly getting better, she was suffering
mentally and still is to this day. After she was
released from the hospital in September of twenty sixteen, Mayu's
whole life was affected by post traumatic stress disorder. In

(44:35):
December of twenty sixteen, Mayo issued an indictment against the
police who dismissed her concerns. Mayo accused the police of
being unable to comprehend just how scared she was for
her physical safety. Mayu said, I explained every detail about
the danger I felt at that time, and also told
the police officers about my worries and feared that I
could be hurt. The three police officers Mayu spoke to
prior to her attack allegedly had no recollection of Mayo

(44:58):
mentioning her fear of possibly being attacked. Instead, they thought
that Mayo only wanted them to somehow stop Tomohito from
harassing her online and felt like the Twitter messages couldn't
count as an immediate threat. Through her lawyer and Mayu said,
going even beyond anger, I only feel sadness. My attempt
to plead my case in the most desperate way possible
didn't get through. Although the police did end up apologizing
at the end, their apology can't take away Mayo's pain

(45:20):
and trauma. The police said it was a case in
which the police should have judged it necessary to swiftly
ensure her safety. On February twenty eighth of twenty seventeen,
Tomohito was sentenced to fourteen years and six months in prison.
Before his sentencing, Tomohito expressed deep regret over his actions.

Speaker 3 (45:35):
He said, I'm.

Speaker 1 (45:36):
Really sorry for having caused great trouble to Miss Tolmyita
and her family. I swear in this court that I
will never go near Miss Tolmita again. Public prosecutors wanted
the sentence to be seventeen years, claiming that he was
relentless and brutal. On the other hand, Tomalhito's lawyers argued
that the attack wasn't premeditated, but that it was a sudden,
spur of the moment attack. When Mayu's injuries were being
described in court, a lay judge actually fainted hearing the

(45:58):
great pain that Mayu suffered. You made her first public
appearance since the attack, when she went to testify in court.
Her testimony said, I want him to return the life
that I was supposed to live. I want him to
return my body without scars. He continued, he is the
kind of person who developed some feelings for someone without
asking if they feel the same way, and tries to
hurt the person if things do not go according to
his will. During her testimony, Mayu was hid him behind

(46:20):
a partition that separated her from Tomohido, who was later
removed from the court because of inappropriate remarks that he
made towards Mayu. In her testimony, Mayu touched on her
suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. She shared, when I
was in the hospital, I would get scared looking at
a pair of scissors which were kept for treatment, thinking
I could be hurt with them. I could not help
myself thinking people coming to visit me were there to
hurt me. Such feelings continue even.

Speaker 2 (46:42):
After I got discharged.

Speaker 1 (46:43):
What happened to Mayu led to a good change, because
soon after, Japan decided to tighten their anti stocking laws
and included threatening text messages and online comments as a
form of stalking. At that time, stocking was a growing
problem in Japan. In twenty eleven, it was reported that
the police received around fourteen thousand, six hundred reports about stalking,
but only made three hundred and fifty one arrests. In

(47:03):
twenty seventeen, the number almost doubled, as the number of
reports climbed to twenty three thousand and seventy nine and
the number of arrests rose to nine hundred twenty six.
There seems to be a bigger problem, though, and many
people pointed the issues with gender inequality in Japan. In
twenty eighteen, Japan ranked one hundred tenth out of one
hundred forty nine countries, being one of the lowest ranked
countries in the East Asia Pacific region. Somehow, it got

(47:25):
even worse over the years. In twenty twenty one, Japan
ranked one twentieth, and in twenty twenty two, the country
ranked one hundred sixteenth. Following Mayu's attack, more Japanese idols
decided to speak out on their experiences with stalking, hoping
to raise awareness. Earlier in twenty nineteen, Mahayamaguchi, a former
member of the Japanese idol group NNGT forty eight, revealed
that she was harassed by two male fans in December

(47:47):
of twenty eighteen after her address was leaked online. The
two men were arrested, but later they were released. In
twenty fourteen, an obsessive fan attack two members of the
group AKB forty eight with an actual saw It's not
only idols that expels stocking, of course, but it's important
for someone powerful to share their experiences so the quote
unquote ordinary people with the same experiences can feel empowered

(48:08):
to come forward and share their stories. A cultural studies
expert Kukichu said this about Yamaguchi's decision to talk about
her attack. If someone powerful has a hard time coming out,
the average woman in Japan things what chance do I have?
But idols are very relatable. This incident could help other
young women to think if she came out, then I
can come out too. In twenty nineteen, Mayu decided to
seek compensation from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government worth around nine

(48:31):
hundred and fifty four thousand dollars, as well as from
her attacker and her previous management agency, which, according to
Mayu didn't do enough to protect her. The lawsuit is
currently ongoing and it isn't known if Mayu is ever
going to return back to the industry. But even when
the attacker isn't a stranger, the ending can be just
as tragic.

Speaker 2 (48:49):
The passing of Kim Soong.

Speaker 1 (48:50):
Jay raises a wave of questions, even twenty six years
after it happened. A tragedy in its true meaning, Kimsung
Jay's life was cut short out of nowhere.

Speaker 2 (48:58):
Seemingly for no reason.

Speaker 1 (49:00):
As we dive deeper into the case, it becomes more
and more apparent who is responsible for his unexpected farewell.
But even after two decades, there still hasn't been any
justice served, and that's the reason why this case is
so twisted. Before we get into what really happened between
November nineteenth and November twentieth and nineteen ninety five, let's
talk about Game Song Jay and what he achieved through
his short but successful life and why this case was

(49:20):
so Big. So Jay was born on April eighteenth, nineteen
seventy two, and he got everything that it takes to
be a true all round during K pop. Not only
was he a great singer and rapper, he had developed
some incredible dancing skills too, and he was also a
part time model, which isn't surprising considering how great he looked.
So Jay shown the most as a member of Deuce,
a first generation K pop and hip hop group that

(49:41):
gained the most success and prominence in the early nineties.
Deus consisted of Gim, Song Jay, and Echando, and they
debuted in nineteen ninety three. Deus was considered to be
one of the most influential groups of the nineties. Not
only did they introduce hip hop music to the Korean audience,
they also attracted a lot of attention because of their
dance and style. Their fan base was growing each day,
and they were on their way to become the biggest
K pop act of that era. Unfortunately, in nineteen ninety five,

(50:04):
Do suddenly disbanded as the members couldn't agree artistically anymore
and decided to pursue solo careers instead. Song Jay made
his solo debut on November nineteenth, nineteen ninety five, by
releasing the song as I Told You. I'm sure many
of you might know this song because a lot of
K pop groups have covered this song at some point
in their careers. The most prominent cover of as I
Told You is the one BTS did in twenty sixteen.

(50:24):
For most idols, their debut day is the happiest of
their lives. For Gamesung Jay, though, this day would become
his last life cut short.

Speaker 3 (50:31):
Gamesung Jay had his solo debut with as.

Speaker 1 (50:34):
I Told You at Music Bank on November nineteenth, nineteen
ninety five. As told by Greasy TV on YouTube, he
arrived at a hotel along with his manager, two foreign
backup dancers, four Korean backup dancers, and lastly his girlfriend.
When these people were interrogated later on, they all claimed
that they just hung out in the common room and
had a couple of beers together. After a while, around
one am, all the backup dancers called it a night

(50:54):
and went to their respective rooms. Some Jay's manager also
decided to head to bed, so then it was only
game Song Jay and his girlfriend left alone in the
living room. There's an important fact to remember that we'll
explain a lot of things later in the story. It's
known that before the manager went to sleep, he turned
on the dryer. Now this type of dryer will automatically
turn off after two hours. In fifteen minutes, around six am,
the manager went to the living room and saw Gemsong

(51:16):
Jay still asleep on the couch, or so he thought
at first. After the manager tried to wake him up
and failed, the manager.

Speaker 2 (51:22):
Didn't think much of it.

Speaker 1 (51:23):
It could have been because the singer had been preparing
for his solo stage extremely hard.

Speaker 2 (51:27):
And was just exhausted right, well, not really.

Speaker 1 (51:30):
The manager tried to wake them up again, and this
time he started to think that something was wrong. That's
when the manager also realized the drawer was still running,
even though it should have stopped.

Speaker 2 (51:39):
Around three am, the manager went back.

Speaker 1 (51:40):
To check on the singer once again, and that's when
he realized that the singer wasn't breathing.

Speaker 2 (51:44):
It was unresponsive.

Speaker 1 (51:45):
On November twentieth, Kim Soong Jay was pronounced Mind you,
he was just twenty three years old.

Speaker 2 (51:51):
But what truly happened? Did he pass away naturally or
was it under the hands of someone else.

Speaker 1 (51:56):
That's where things get messy. All signs point to her.
At first, some Jays passed was ruled as cardiac arrest.
Since he had a pretty large fan base, rumors started
to spread around quickly. Some people claim that the singer
was actually addicted to substances and he simply overdosed, which
was following the rumors about the singer being a gaddict
from the beginning of his career. There have even been
rumors that Gamesong Jay took his own life, but this

(52:16):
has quickly been proven as false. According to the singer's mother,
games Jay was really excited about his solo career.

Speaker 3 (52:22):
He had good.

Speaker 1 (52:23):
Connections with his friends and family, and even promised to
his mother to see her after he debuts. Of course,
it's still possible for a person to take their own
life even though they seemed perfectly fine, but this wasn't
game Song Jay's case. Then the results of the autopsy
and toxicology report came in. Gamesong Jay had twenty eight
needle marks in his right arm. This could still mean
that Gamesong Jay overdose right, but he didn't. The toxicology

(52:44):
report took a while to arrive because the professionals couldn't
identify the substance in his body. After a while, it
was revealed that animal sedatives such as animal anesesia and
animal euthanizer.

Speaker 2 (52:54):
Were the unknown substances.

Speaker 1 (52:56):
It's also rumored that the reason why the toxicology report
took a while longer to be then the autopsy is
because it was actually the first time someone had been
by the usage of animal sedatives an animal euthanizer in
South Korea. Now, it was obvious that Sung Jay didn't
pass away due to natural reasons, So who was the
one behind it? Well, there's only one person that was
with the singer at the time of his last breath.
Because of the placement of the needleshots in Gamesung Jay's arms,

(53:18):
it was obvious that someone had to inject those needles
into him. It would be really tricky and difficult for
Gamesung Jay to do it to himself, mainly because he
was right handed and usually your opposite hand is the
weaker one. It would be hard for him to find
the right veins to inject the substances into as well.
But do you know who was very skilled with needles?
Gamesong Jay's girlfriend. To this day, we don't know where
her name is for sure, although it was speculated her

(53:40):
name could be gim you soon. It's reported that his
girlfriend was a medical student, so she must have had
a good knowledge of the human body, which would also
explain the twenty eight needle marks, as she was likely
aware that she needed to inject little by little since
substances like these can clog up the human veins. A
witness later came in to report that they sold Sung
Jay's girlfriend those animal sedatives and euthanizer. This witness also

(54:00):
shared that Sun Jay's girlfriend told them not to tell
the police she bought those drugs from them if.

Speaker 2 (54:04):
They ever asked. This is going to sound insane, but.

Speaker 1 (54:06):
Allegedly his girlfriend previously kicked her own dog and replaced
it with the same breed to see if.

Speaker 2 (54:11):
Those drugs really work.

Speaker 1 (54:12):
She sounds like a psychopath, which she might as well
be considering the way she acted towards schemesong day.

Speaker 2 (54:17):
Throughout their relationship.

Speaker 1 (54:18):
It has been reported by many people that Sung Jay
and his girlfriend had a pretty rocky relationship. At some point,
she allegedly went on stage during one of his concerts
and screamed at the fans, leave my boyfriend alone whenever
some Jay's fans would approach him. His girlfriend would throw
fit and would do everything she could to stop them.
His girlfriend was also a borderline stocker, as she always
contacted his friends to find out what Sunday was doing.

(54:39):
She also apparently fired a gas gun towards Schemsung Day's
face and actually shot him the night before he was
supposed to leave for the US. On one instance, some
Day allegedly got really drunk and his girlfriend got mad
at him for drinking, and so while he was sleeping,
she actually tied him to the bed with duct tape.
It was also said that Sunjay actually broke up with
his girlfriend before he went to the US, so maybe
she did all of this to get back at him

(55:00):
for breaking her heart. Now let's talk about the dryer again.
Remember how the manager noticed the dryer was still running
at six am, even though it should have stopped sometime
around three am. Well, it's believed that before Sunday's girlfriend
left the hotel room at three thirty am, she turned
the dryer on. No one knows why, but investigators had
played with the possibility of her turning it on to
drown out any sounds as she mercilessly took some Day's life.

(55:21):
I've already mentioned before that, the cause of the passing
was concluded as cardiac arrest at some point, although it's
not clear when or why his autopsy was changed and
the cause of the passing was concluded as something else
because once all the evidence started to pop up, his
girlfriend actually went and requested for the cause of passing
to be changed back to cardiac arrest. Allegedly, she also
tried to bribe the police with money to stop them
from examining Some Jay's body completely definitely suspicious.

Speaker 2 (55:44):
The police also did a.

Speaker 1 (55:45):
Really bad job at investigating the crime scene and looking
for more clues.

Speaker 2 (55:48):
There was CCTV.

Speaker 1 (55:49):
Around the hotel, but the police made zero effort to
check the footage. When Somenjay's mother was asked to come
and identify the body, she noticed something that didn't sit
right with her. She said that, no matter the time
or place, Jay always took off his makeup before going
to sleep, but when she went to identify him, she
noticed that his hair was still done and he still
had a lot of makeup on. This seemingly unimportant detail
defines the timeline of some Jay's passing a little more.

(56:11):
There's a high chance that some Day was attacked before
he even managed to go to bed.

Speaker 2 (56:15):
Some Day's girlfriend didn't even.

Speaker 1 (56:16):
Try hard enough to hide any evidence, and so it
came as no surprise that at first she was found
guilty and sentenced to life in prison for the games
on Jay, though no one was prepared for what came next,
the unexpected twist. During the first trial, the girlfriend was
sentenced to life in prison, but that would soon change.
Over the course of the second and third trial, his
girlfriend was actually found not guilty despite all the evidence

(56:38):
pointing towards her. The court said that there was actually
a lack of evidence that would directly point towards some
Jay's girlfriend.

Speaker 2 (56:43):
How could they.

Speaker 1 (56:44):
Possibly think that it was someone else when she was
the one who purchased those sedatives, not to mention that
she was a medical student and she was so possessive
over him. She was really like, if I can't have him,
then no one can. But unfortunately she took it too far.
The court also argued that the amount of the sedative
she purchased was not actually enough to Sunday. The witness
who at first reported that they sold the sedatives to

(57:04):
some Jay's girlfriend later changed their testimony and claimed that
they actually didn't remember anything. The reason why it suddenly
took such a sudden and strange turn could be the
background of some Jay's girlfriend. Apparently, someone in her family
had a political background, and although it's not known who exactly,
it wouldn't be that strange for her to pay her lawyers,
the officials, and even the court to overturn the verdict.
It wouldn't be the first time someone used their wealth

(57:25):
and power to their advantage so they didn't have to
face the consequences of their actions. Her lawyer also argued
that she did indeed buy those animal sedatives, but they
were for her own use, as she intended to take
her own life but decided not to go through with
it at the last second.

Speaker 2 (57:38):
I mean, this just sounds super sketchy.

Speaker 1 (57:41):
Their relationship was also painted in a completely different light.
Apparently they were super happy together and there was no
conflict going on between them. Her defense team also tried
to throw the blame on one of the foreign backup dancers.
Their story was that one of the dancers felt negative
emotions towards Sunjay and they just couldn't hold in their
anger anymore.

Speaker 3 (57:57):
It does look a.

Speaker 1 (57:58):
Little suspicious consider during that they allegedly.

Speaker 2 (58:01):
Left to go back to the States just a day after, but.

Speaker 1 (58:03):
There's still way more evidence pointing towards the girlfriend than
to the backup dancers. What's also incredibly frustrating about this
whole case is the way that the law system works
in South Korea. If a person had been previously charged
but later was acquitted, they cannot be charged again, even
if they are found guilty after some time. Obviously, Some
Jay's passing made headlines all over South Korea, and a
lot of people were absolutely devastated, understandably so, especially when

(58:27):
in the end no one seemed to be responsible for
his death. After some time, Some Jay's case went cold,
and it would always pop up just for a little while.
That was until twenty nineteen, when the woman who Sungjay
once called his girlfriends started to look even more suspicious
fighting for justice. Fast forward to the present, It's said
that Some Jay's girlfriend changed her name and underwent numerous
plastic surgeries to change her appearance. She's also been working

(58:48):
at a dentist clinic along with her husband and is
living lavishly, while Sung Jay's family and especially his brother,
are still fighting to get some Jay the justice he deserves.
Back in December of twenty nineteen, an episode of sba
US Unanswered Questions regarding some Jay's passing was supposed to air.
Turns out a court order actually prevented the broadcast from
marrying Some Jay's brother, Gimsong Wolf shared.

Speaker 2 (59:08):
I don't understand the court's decision.

Speaker 1 (59:10):
We don't want to punish anyone, but want to know
the truth about what happened that day.

Speaker 2 (59:13):
The biggest reason is that my mom should know the
truth about what happened. It's her only wish.

Speaker 1 (59:17):
Gamesong Wolf has been fighting for his brother ever since
Sonjay passed, and it doesn't seem like he will ever stop,
even though everything has seemed to be against him. The
reason why the episode about Sunjay wasn't aired is because
of Sunjay's girlfriend, now going by missus Geme filed a
provisional injunction to forbid the broadcast. Back then, the court ruled,
it is difficult to say that this is a broadcast
made solely for the public interest. There was a risk

(59:38):
that it could cause irreparable damage to missus Gem's character.
In honor, the production staff of Unanswered Questions expressed their
deep regret at the band, but complied with the court ruling. Nonetheless,
there wasn't much that they could do anyways. The production
staff said, this episode tackled an unsolved case that has
many unanswered questions and in which the public has a
high level of interest. It was an opportunity to interview
experts of newly developed scientific techniques that may have shed

(01:00:01):
some light on the case, and we spent five months
researching and collecting material for the story. Skipping a few
months to December of twenty nineteen, SBS tried to air
the episode of Unanswered Questions once again, but was blocked
from doing so for the second time, and it was
once again because of Missus Game.

Speaker 3 (01:00:15):
The court accepted Missus.

Speaker 2 (01:00:16):
Geme's request for injunction and.

Speaker 1 (01:00:18):
Said the previous broadcast in this broadcast differ in reasoning only,
but in the end, they both suggest that the fire
lay of the injunction might have committed. The court also
determined that the broadcast contains information which hasn't been confirmed,
such as that Missus Game injected Sunjay with magnesium sulfate
and that she has actually purchased more of the animal
sedatives than it was said before. Unanswered Questions. Responded to

(01:00:38):
the court ruling, we respect the decision of the court,
but we are deeply frustrated. So long as we continue
to receive information on the case, we will continue to
look further into the matter. My heart goes out to
Sunji's family, who had been looking for answers for twenty
six years without much success. It must be incredibly hard
to not know what happened to their beloved son and brother.
While it's understandable that SBS had to follow the court ruling,

(01:00:59):
it's as missus Gieme doesn't want the episode to air
because the world will probably learn the full truth and
now that she's basically built a completely new life for her,
she wouldn't want that taken away from her, would she. E. Hyundo,
a person who made Douce Complete, shared a story about
Gamsung j.

Speaker 2 (01:01:13):
On a broadcast one day.

Speaker 1 (01:01:14):
He started off by saying that he and some Jay
fought a lot before Sung Jay left the US to
have a solo debut stage in Korea. According to Hyando,
as Sjay was leaving, he gave him a smile, bit
him goodbye, and gave his hand for a handshake.

Speaker 3 (01:01:25):
Yundo didn't take it. On that day, Hundo had a
strange dream where he and.

Speaker 1 (01:01:29):
Sungjay had just finished a schedule and had many fans
approaching them with flowers. What Hundo found weird was that
all the fans went to Hondo and gave their flowers
to him. No one went to Sung Jay, who could
only smile at them from afar. When Hyundo went to
him and gave him some flowers, some Jay only said,
it's okay, I'm gonna get tons of flowers tomorrow.

Speaker 2 (01:01:45):
This story gives me the chills.

Speaker 1 (01:01:47):
But grief has a way of destroying more than one
life at a time. One idol who suffered a lot
because of an unspeakable tragedy is Sun Jo Yung, a
member of the legendary group God who later embarked on
a solo career. Ho Young's life come completely changed on
May twenty first, twenty thirteen, when the lifeless body of
his girlfriend was discovered in his car. According to the
police report on the incident, Hoyung's vehicle was found parked

(01:02:09):
illegally in Gangnam and a tow truck came to.

Speaker 2 (01:02:12):
Remove the car.

Speaker 1 (01:02:13):
However, the driver of the tow truck noticed the lifeless
body of a woman inside the vehicle and immediately called
the police. After arriving At the scene, the police found
a used briquette, an empty bottle of sleeping pills, and
a note inside the car, and these elements instantly suggested
that the woman had taken her own life. Two days
after the body was found, the police revealed the preliminary
results of the autopsy, which confirmed that the woman had

(01:02:35):
passed away because of gas poisoning with no external involvement.
They also revealed the contents of the note left by
the woman, stating that it contained information about the woman's
debts and self pessimistic messages, along with the phrase I
feel disappointed by Son Hoo yung. These elements allowed the
police to confirm that the woman had taken her own life,
as they initially suspected. As soon as the body was discovered,

(01:02:57):
Ho Young was summoned by the police and was then
interrogated for two hours. According to Hoyung's legal representatives, he
had been in a serious relationship with the woman, a
non celebrity, for about a year, and he only learned
about her passing when he received a call from the police.
They also added that the car in which the body
was found was indeed Ho Jung's personal vehicle, and he
used it mostly for his work activities, but he also

(01:03:18):
often lent it to his girlfriend for driving practice purposes.
Hoyung's representatives admitted that in the previous weeks he had
been very busy preparing for his upcoming album, and this
caused him to have some arguments with his girlfriend, but
added that the disagreements weren't so serious to suggest that
the woman would take such a drastic decision. Meanwhile, there
were contrasting reports about Ho Jung's relationship with his girlfriend's family.

(01:03:40):
Some news outlets reported that Hojung was offering condolences to
them at the woman's funeral, while others stated that the
family of the deceased yelled and showed anger at him
while he was being questioned by the police. In any case,
this horrible news immediately made headlines throughout the Korean entertainment world,
and Netisen's were absolutely shocked. Many felt sad and heartbroken,
and some wished that Ho Young could get some time

(01:04:01):
off to mourn in peace. Worrying for his health, however,
others started to accuse him of causing the passing of
his girlfriend, and this deeply impacted his already struggling mental health.
Ho Young canceled all his activities following the incident, and
he was reported to be in an extreme state of shock,
as he apparently had no prior knowledge or hints that
something this horrible could happen. Instead of recovering, things only

(01:04:22):
got worse for Ho Young, and on May twenty fourth,
it was reported that he had been rushed to the
hospital after apparently attempting to take his own life. According
to the police, in the early morning of May twenty fourth,
Ho Young parked his car in a public parking lot
and apparently lit a colbriquette, intending to take his own
life by gas poisoning, copying exactly what his girlfriend had
done just a few days earlier. However, the interior of

(01:04:43):
the car caught fire, and Ho Young managed to jump
out of the burning vehicle before it was too late.
A passerby who saw the burning car called the firefighters,
and Ho Young was then taken to the hospital with
non life threatening injuries. Meanwhile, Ho Young's agency confirmed that
he was being hospitalized for a few days and added
that although his physical health wasn't too damaged, his mental
state was extremely fragile. This unexpected development shocked nedicines even more,

(01:05:07):
and numerous reporters rushed to the hospital where Ho Yung
was being treated to learn more about what was going on. However,
the crowd of journalists ended up causing an awful scene
at the hospital. When the hospital staff was preparing to
move Hoyung from one room to another, reporters ran to
get closer and take.

Speaker 3 (01:05:22):
A photo of him.

Speaker 1 (01:05:23):
Doctors and nurses tried to yell their way through the crowd,
but when Ho Jung actually appeared wheeled in on a
hospital bed with a blanket covering his face, the reporter
scrambled in a mad rush. The hospital staff was overwhelmed,
and Ho Yung's manager, who was also at the scene,
finally broke down in tears and sobbed as he begged
journalists to.

Speaker 2 (01:05:40):
Move away and let Hoyung through.

Speaker 1 (01:05:42):
This awful moment added another level of sadness to the situation,
and nedicins were appalled by how insensitive the reporters were
towards ho Jung, with some asking how the police could
allow so many journalists to enter a hospital. Meanwhile, fans
and colleagues of Hojung became more vocal in their support.
Good member Danny Ann revealed on maye t twenty fifth
that he had visited Hoyung at the hospital and asked

(01:06:03):
everyone to pray for him. Another God member, June Park,
echoed this sentiment, saying that he was heartbroken by what
was happening to Ho Yung and told fans to pray
for his health. Over the following days, Hoyung started to recover,
but it was slower than expected. He was initially supposed
to stay at the hospital for around three days, but
by May thirtieth, he was still hospitalized, although he had
been moved from the intensive care unit into a regular room.

(01:06:25):
By this point, he was still suffering from severe burns
as well as the consequences of inhaling gas and taking
several sleeping pills, while the emotional scars were even deeper
than his physical injuries. Also, according to sources close to
Ho Yung, he would have to take a long break
from any activity even after his recovery, as he would
be closely monitored to make sure that he wouldn't try
to take his own life again. Ho Jung was finally

(01:06:47):
released from the hospital on June first, and he began
his resting period at home with his father. While all
his activities were canceled and his upcoming album was indefinitely postponed.
One month later, a representative of ho Jung's agency gave
some updates on his condition. Ho Jung apparently spent a
lot of time confined in his home, and only after
a few weeks he started to go out hiking mountains

(01:07:07):
around Seoul with his father while he tried to get
back on his feet. He reportedly decided to go on
hikes as a way to let go of his thoughts
while strengthening the mind and body and reflecting on the past. However,
the manager stated that it would still take a long
time before Hoyung is fully recovered. At the same time,
ho Jung was also charged by the police for setting
a car on fire while attempting to take his own life,

(01:07:27):
but the prosecution ultimately dropped the charges, arguing that the
vehicle caught fire by mistake.

Speaker 2 (01:07:32):
Over the course of.

Speaker 1 (01:07:33):
The following months, Hojung disappeared from the entertainment world, and
he reportedly decided to live an ordinary life with no
discussion about returning to his activities. Nevertheless, in September, his
agency stated that he would make his return soon. Ho
Yung finally returned to the entertainment industry in March twenty fourteen,
when it was revealed that he would join the new
reality show Sharehouse. While more public appearances were being planned.

(01:07:55):
That July, Ho Jung took part in the long awaited
God reunion, so he was able to return to his
music career too. However, just as God was preparing for
their comeback, it was revealed that Ho Young was under
investigation for the unauthorized use of a sleep inducing pill
that's often used to cure insomnia. This substance must be
prescribed by a physician and has a lot of side effects,
including hallucinations. According to prosecutors, Ho Young had taken several

(01:08:20):
of these pills when he tried to take his own life,
and they wanted to investigate whether he continued to take
them after the incident. In the end, no evidence was found,
and Ho Young was cleared of the accusations. In December
twenty fourteen, Ho Young finally spoke about the toughest moment
of his life when he tried to end it all.
He confessed that he had been struggling with his mental
health for years, and the fact that fans and journalists

(01:08:40):
were so obsessed with his physique made him wonder if
anyone actually cared about him. He shared that he often
felt lonely and the only person who was there for
him was his girlfriend, so when she passed away, he
became hopeless and decided to end it. However, when he
opened his eyes in the hospital, he was happy to
be still alive and immediately thought that God was the
thing he was mast the most, so he started to

(01:09:01):
think about reuniting the group. In the end, Ho Young
was able to make a full recovery and return to
all his activities, while his postponed solo album was finally
released in May twenty sixteen,