ID :
23339
Thu, 10/09/2008 - 09:56
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/23339
The shortlink copeid
Actor takes his own life, fourth in a row of celebrity suicides
By Shin Hae-in
SEOUL, Oct. 8 (Yonhap) -- A gay South Korean actor was found dead at his home Wednesday in an apparent suicide, police said, just days after a transgender actress took her own life.
The death of Kim Ji-hoo, 23, is the fourth in a string of suicides by South
Korean entertainers since well-known actor Ahn Jae-hwan was found dead early last
month. The nation is still reeling from the Oct. 2 death of top star Choi
Jin-sil, who police said hanged herself under extreme stress from malicious
rumors and hate-charged messages on the Internet.
Kim, who recently came out of the closet via a cable channel entertainment show,
appears also to have suffered from hateful messages online and has had
difficulties finding work since then, police said, quoting his mother.
"Kim was under very severe stress from hateful opinions hurled against him on the
internet since he revealed his sexual preference," Hong Suk-chun, one of Korea's
best-known gay entertainers, told a local media outlet Wednesday. Hong was the
first Korean actor to disclose his homosexuality in 2004.
Just two days earlier, transgender Jang Chae-won, 26, was found dead at her home
in Seoul, also confirmed as suicide by police.
Many of the recent celebrity deaths have been linked to malicious Internet
gossip, a growing social problem in South Korea which has one of the world's most
active online communities with almost 80 percent of households having broadband
access. The country also has the highest suicide rate among OECD members with
about 36 people taking their lives each day last year.
Many domestic Web portals have in recent years doubled the number of monitors to
stop internet users from leaving negative comments and spreading false rumors
about celebrities, but the problem remains largely unsolved.
Debates heated up among political parties on whether the country should require
all internet users to use real names when posting messages. Liberal politicians
and civic groups claim such measures will damage freedom of speech.
Kim, born in 1985, began his career as a model and made his TV debut last year
via the SBS soap opera "Toji."
hayney@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, Oct. 8 (Yonhap) -- A gay South Korean actor was found dead at his home Wednesday in an apparent suicide, police said, just days after a transgender actress took her own life.
The death of Kim Ji-hoo, 23, is the fourth in a string of suicides by South
Korean entertainers since well-known actor Ahn Jae-hwan was found dead early last
month. The nation is still reeling from the Oct. 2 death of top star Choi
Jin-sil, who police said hanged herself under extreme stress from malicious
rumors and hate-charged messages on the Internet.
Kim, who recently came out of the closet via a cable channel entertainment show,
appears also to have suffered from hateful messages online and has had
difficulties finding work since then, police said, quoting his mother.
"Kim was under very severe stress from hateful opinions hurled against him on the
internet since he revealed his sexual preference," Hong Suk-chun, one of Korea's
best-known gay entertainers, told a local media outlet Wednesday. Hong was the
first Korean actor to disclose his homosexuality in 2004.
Just two days earlier, transgender Jang Chae-won, 26, was found dead at her home
in Seoul, also confirmed as suicide by police.
Many of the recent celebrity deaths have been linked to malicious Internet
gossip, a growing social problem in South Korea which has one of the world's most
active online communities with almost 80 percent of households having broadband
access. The country also has the highest suicide rate among OECD members with
about 36 people taking their lives each day last year.
Many domestic Web portals have in recent years doubled the number of monitors to
stop internet users from leaving negative comments and spreading false rumors
about celebrities, but the problem remains largely unsolved.
Debates heated up among political parties on whether the country should require
all internet users to use real names when posting messages. Liberal politicians
and civic groups claim such measures will damage freedom of speech.
Kim, born in 1985, began his career as a model and made his TV debut last year
via the SBS soap opera "Toji."
hayney@yna.co.kr
(END)
