South Korean singer Wheesung found dead at home aged 43
South Korean singer Wheesung has died aged 43 after being found dead at his home in Seoul.
The K-pop singer, real name Choi Whee-sung, was discovered in a state of cardiac arrest in his apartment in the South Korean capital around 6:30pm on March 10th. An officer at Seoul Gwangjin Police Station confirmed there had been no evidence of a break-in or foul play.
Due to Wheesung’s history of drug problems, the authorities are currently investigating whether his death was related to a drug overdose. They also stated that a “significant amount of time” had passed before his body was discovered.
His management agency, Tajoy Entertainment, confirmed his passing on March 11th, stating that “artist Wheesung has left us” and sharing that his death had left everybody in the company who knew Wheesung in “deep sorrow”.
Wheesung was best known for his cover of the Craig David hit ‘Insomnia’, which sold over 100,000 copies, and ‘With Me’, which sold more than 200,000 copies. He also scored a series of well-performing albums in the Korean charts during the 2000s, including 2003’s It’s Real.
However, in recent years, Wheesung’s career was derailed by drug problems. In 2013, he was acquitted of using propofol, which is also the drug that was cited as the cause of Michael Jackson’s death in 2009. Then, in 2020, Wheesung was found passed out in a shopping mall bathroom after taking Etomidate and being found with syringes but as the drug isn’t illegal in Korea, he faced no charges.
He was later charged with propofol use on several occasions in December 2019 following a police investigation after a tip-off. The case went to trial in 2021 and Wheesung received a suspended jail sentence after being found guilty.
In his last social media post, Wheesung looked ahead to returning to the stage this weekend on March 15th at a concert in Daegu alongside fellow singer KCM, writing, “Weight loss completed. See you on March 15.”
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