Wheesung, South Korean Star Who Helped Bring R&B to K-Pop, Dead at 43

The musician was found dead at his home in Seoul, but a cause of death has not yet been released

Wheesung, the celebrated South Korean musician known for blending R&B and K-pop, died Monday evening, March 10, The New York Times reports. He was 43.

Wheesung, whose real name was Choi Whee-sung, was found dead at his home in Seoul in a state of cardiac arrest. Police have said there’s no evidence of a break-in or foul play.

Authorities are investigating the possibility of a drug overdose, and Wheesung had struggled with drug abuse in the past. In 2021, his reputation in South Korea took a hit when he was convicted for purchasing and using propofol, the same powerful sedative partly responsible for Michael Jackson’s death (it is listed as a controlled substance in South Korea). 

In a statement, Wheesung’s management company, Tajoy Entertainment, said, “Artist Wheesung has left us,” adding that their staff were “in deep sorrow” (via The Guardian). 

After a short stint in the quartet A4 during the late Nineties, Wheesung (who is also sometimes recorded as Realslow) kicked off his solo career in 2002 with his debut album, Like a Movie. The album was a success, as was its successor, 2003’s It’s Real, which reached Number One on the Korean charts.

While R&B wasn’t the only genre Wheesung dabbled in, hits like It’s Real single “With Me,” 2011’s “Heartsore Story,” and his 2009 cover of Craig David’s “Insomnia” showcased the musician’s resonant vocals and penchant for big ballads and soulful dance tunes.

In 2011, arguably at the height of his popularity, Wheesung stepped back from his career to complete his mandatory military service (though he still managed to score a handful of hits with backlogged tunes released during this time). After completing his military service, Wheesung not only returned to music but picked up acting, starring in musical theater productions of Zorro and Elvis Presley’s All Shook Up. Wheesung also wrote songs for other K-pop acts, like Twice and Super Junior. 

Wheesung briefly found himself embroiled in a scandal when South Korean authorities accused him of illegally using propofol in 2013, though he was ultimately cleared of the charges. Eight years later, however, Wheesung was convicted in a similar case. He received a one-year suspended sentence and was ordered to pay a fine, perform community service, and undergo drug treatment. 

While Wheesung hadn’t released any new music since 2019, he remained active and was scheduled to perform a concert in Daegu this Saturday, March 15. 

Wheesung’s death marks yet another shocking loss for the South Korean entertainment industry. Last month, the 24-year-old actress Kim Sae-ron — who’d struggled to find roles after a drunk-driving incident — was found dead in her home. In April 2023, Moon Bin, a member of the popular K-pop group Astro, died at the age of 25; while that December, actor Lee Sun-Kyun — one of the stars of Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite, who was also caught up in a drug investigation — died by suicide at the age of 48.