Jonghyun‘s shockingly sad death has left fans everywhere devastated including his young protege, Jung Yoogeun, 11, who had known the singer and was striving to be just like him. Yoogeun, who referred to Jonghyun as “Daddy Jonghyun,” appeared on the show, SHINee’s Hello Baby with Jonghyun and his group, SHINee back in 2010 when he was just 4-years-old. Since then, he’s closely followed SHINee’s career and would often tune into their regular Instagram live streams. Yoogeun’s mother, wrote a long message on Yoogeun’s Instagram on Dec. 19 after hearing about Jonghyun’s death. She talked about how unbelievable the news was and how Yoogeun was coping with it all. “The shock is just too big,” Yoogeun’s mother wrote, according to the translation of the Instagram post by allkpop. He wasn’t able to fall asleep. Seeing him trying so hard to hold back the tears, I told Yoogeun to not hold back. Hearing this, Yoogeun sobbed as he called Daddy Jonghyun’s name. He then cried himself to sleep.” See photos of Jonghyun here.
Yoogeun’s grief and shock is definitely shared by all those who knew him. Jonghyun was found dead on Dec. 18 after his sister called the police with concern that her brother was trying to commit suicide. An official statement from authorities confirmed that when police arrived, they found Jonghyun unconscious after an attempt to commit suicide with brown coal briquettes lit inside a frying pan. He didn’t die until he went into cardiac arrest on his way to the hospital. Although no official cause of death will be released until after an autopsy is performed, it is believed the K-pop star died from carbon monoxide poisoning from the coal briquettes.
Jonghyun’s death comes after he suffered from a long battle with depression. The young talent rose to fame after he became part of SHINee in 2008 and later sang ballads for a group called S.M. The Ballad. He released a solo debut album in 2015.
Our thoughts and healing wishes are with everyone affected by Jonghyun’s death.
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