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 In an unrelated case, K-pop star Kang Daniel's management agency
Konnect Entertainment said the former member of the hit boy band
Wanna One had decided to take a break from his performing
schedules due to "depression and panic attacks."
The agency said the 22-year-old has recently been showing
"frequent signs of worsening health and anxiety."
Kang was a former member of the 11-member Wanna One which went
on to become one of the biggest K-pop acts after its debut in
2017. He went solo in 2018.
While South Korea's pop culture mostly projects a wholesome
image on stage and screen, it has recently been marred by a
series of untimely deaths and criminal cases that have revealed
a darker side of the industry.
A police official told Reuters that Cha, 27, was found dead on
Tuesday and that the cause of the death was not immediately
known.
Cha, whose real name is Lee Jae-ho, made his film debut in 2017
and was previously a member of the five-member boy band Surprise
U, which released two albums.
The singer-actor had left an Instagram post the day before he
was found dead, a single line message to his fans: "Everyone be
careful not to catch the cold."
There were no reports to suggest he had been subjected to the
kind of personal attacks and cyber bullying that other K-pop
artists have received.
His talent agency Fantagio in a statement expressed "the deepest
mourning for his passing" and asked the public and the media to
refrain from spreading stories about his death.
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Cha's death comes after a popular K-pop singer, Koo Hara, 28, was
found dead at her home last month. She had been subjected to
personal attacks on social media.
Her death followed the apparent suicide of a fellow K-pop star,
Sulli, a former member of girl group f(x), in October. Sulli, 25,
had spoken out against cyber bullying.
The cases have cast a dark cloud over the K-pop craze, one of South
Korea's most successful soft power exports, and brought a renewed
focus on personal attacks and cyber bullying of young stars that
goes largely unpunished.
Lee Maria, a 52-year-old office worker, said it was heartbreaking to
see talented young artists making "tragic choices" but what was more
alarming was the prospect of their fans seeking to emulate their
actions.
Kim Dae-han, a Seoul resident who said he was the same age as Cha,
said his view of the celebrities had changed after the recent
deaths: "I think they might be in pain even though their life looks
very fancy."
The industry has also been hit by a series of sex scandals. Last
week, two male former K-pop band members were convicted of sexual
assaults and sentenced to prison terms.
(Reporting by Sangmi Cha; additional reporting by Youngseo Choi;
Editing by Jack Kim, Sam Holmes and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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