#Moonbin, Member of K-pop Band Astro, Dies at 25

Moonbin, a member of the Korean k-pop band Astro and one-half of the musical duo Moonbin & Sanha, has died. He was 25.

Police in South Korea said the singer’s body was discovered at his home in Seoul’s Gangnam-gu district by the band’s manager on Wednesday evening, The Korea Times reported. Police said they are still investigating the cause of death, but believe Moonbin died by suicide.

Astro’s record label Fantagio Music confirmed Moonbin’s death in a statement posted to social media. “Astro’s Moonbin has suddenly left us to become a star in the sky,” Fantagio said in the statement. “All of the other Astro members, his colleague artists and employees at Fantagio are deeply mourning him with great grief and shock.”

Moonbin was born Moon Bin in 1998 in the provincial city of Cheongju, South Korea. He entered the entertainment industry at an early age, first as a child model and then as a singer. His younger sister Moon Sua, would go on to be a member of the k-pop girl group Billlie.

Signed by Fantagio’s talent arm in his teens, Moonbin would join the group Astro, with the six-man act making their debut in February 2016 shortly after appearing on the MBC Music reality TV show Astro OK! Ready.

In their first year, the band released three seasonally named EPs, including the debut Spring Up, Summer Vibes and Autumn Story. After achieving some success at home and in Japan, helped by further appearances in the web series and reality shows, Astro released a number of mini albums until they released their first full studio album, All Light, in January 2019.

In November 2019, Moonbin took a step back from Astro, with Fantagio revealing that the singer was struggling with health issues. He would return in early 2020 and would feature on the band’s 2021 album All Yours and the 2022 release Drive to the Starry Road.

Moonbin and fellow Astro member Sanha would combine to form the duo Moonbin & Sanha and release three EPs, beginning with In-Out in 2020, which was followed by Refuge (2022) and Incense which was released in January.

Outside of music, much like other k-pop stars, Moonbin was a regular on reality TV and competition shows. He co-hosted the MBC series Show Champion and appeared in Saturday Night Live Korea. As an actor he appeared in a number of web dramas and had significant roles in the television series Boys Over Flowers (2009) and Moment of Eighteen (2019).

If you or anyone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.