Iconic Korean actress found dead
Written by Writer on Sunday, October 5th, 2008
Iconic Korean actress found dead
Song Sang-ho
The Korea Herald
Choi Jin-sil, Korea’s long-beloved iconic actress, was found dead yesterday at her residence in Seoul, in an apparent suicide amid rumors accusing her of involvement in the alleged suicide last month of another actor.
Choi, 39, was found hanging in the shower stall in her room with a bandage tightened around her neck at around 6.15am, said officials at the Seocho Police Station.
Choi’s mother first discovered her body and called in her brother, actor Choi Jin-young, who reported to the police at around 7.34am, police said. No suicide note was found.
Police tentatively concluded that she took her own life, dismissing the possibility of murder.
“According to her make-up staffer, Choi had been persistently suffering from the rumors, and she received a text message from Choi, asking her to take care of her children if something happens to her,” a police officer told reporters.
Choi is rumored to have lent about 2.5 billion won (US$2.1 million) to and then blackmailed Ahn Jae-hwan, a renowned actor and husband of Choi’s close friend, comedienne Jung Sun-hee.
Ahn was found dead on Sept 8 in his minivan in Seoul. Ahn was said to have seriously agonised over snowballing debts from his series of moribund businesses, which led him to desperately seek money even from extortionate lenders.
Right before her death, Choi complained to her mother of her mental distress caused by the persistent rumours, the police said.
“Choi sobbed and told her mother it was very frustrating that people keep harassing her with the rumours that have nothing to do with her,” said a police official.
Choi came back home at around midnight after having drunk with her manager, the official said.
According to her mother, Choi had shown symptoms of depression since her high-profile divorce five years ago.
“Since her divorce, Choi has taken sedatives in small amounts. But her dose of the drug has recently increased, her mother stated,” an investigator said.
Police also found from her close associates that Choi had routinely expressed suicidal thoughts, complaining of difficulty raising her children and maintaining her top-ranking star status.
Monday last week, Choi went to the police station herself and asked the police to track down the one who disseminated the rumours against her. Police recently booked a securities firm employee on charges of spreading the rumours on the internet.
An autopsy will be conducted soon despite vehement opposition from her family, a prosecutor said.
“As this case is at the center of people’s attention, the failure to clarify the cause of her death could trigger greater suspicions afterwards,” he said.
“Given the circumstances, the possibility of her suicide is very high, but we cannot rule out the possibility that she died after mistakenly taking some drugs or foods.”
Suh Sang-wook, head of her entertainment company, said that he never detected any suicidal signs as she actively engaged in preparation for another soap opera, for which shooting begins next month.
Although she complained of some health problems halfway through the shooting for a commercial on Wednesday, no suspicious signs were displayed, he said.
“The focus of our talk (the night before her death) was entirely on the synopsis and her character in the drama,” said Suh.
“Whereas she has more confidence in her work than others, she was quite fragile about malicious internet replies related to her children and the recent rumors.”
In an unusual move, several prosecutorial investigators were assigned to investigate her death in an apparent bid to avert copycat suicides, given her nationwide popularity.
Debuting in show business in 1988, Choi quickly rose to stardom with a 1989 commercial for Samsung Electronics. Choi dominated TV dramas and commercials in the 1990s with her attractive girlish looks, and made a successful comeback following her high-profile divorce in 2004 with her husband, former pro baseball player Cho Sung-min.
BY : ASIA NEWS NETWORK
