Sulli reportedly found dead at her Seoul residence; K-pop singer's manager says she 'suffered from depression'

Korean pop star and actor Sulli was found dead at her home in Seoul, South Korea.

The 25-year-old was found after her manager went to her home in Seongnam because she didn’t answer phone calls for hours, said Kim Seong-tae, an official from the Seongnam Sujeong Police Department.

Sulli. Image from The Associated Press

Kim said that there were no signs of foul play and that police did not find a suicide note.

“The investigation is ongoing and we won’t make presumptions about the cause of death,” said Kim, adding that security camera footage at Sulli’s home showed no signs of an intrusion.

The manager said the actor, whose real name Choi Jin-ri, suffered depression, and police said that they are looking at the chances of suicide.

In a statement sent to reporters, SM Entertainment, Sulli’s agency, said her death was “very hard to believe and sorrowful.”

In the initial investigation, police neither found any sign of criminal offence, nor a suicide note.

Choi, who made her debut as a child actor in 2005, became popular after joining K-pop girl band f(x).

She played the lead role in 2017 film Real and in Pirates. The actor had recently shot for TV show Hotel Del Luna and was set to star in Persona for Netflix.

She was known for her feminist voice and outspokenness that was rare among female entertainers in deeply conservative South Korea. She recently appeared in a TV show and spoke out against online backlash she received over her lifestyle. She even suspended her career in 2014 after struggling with cyber-bullying and left the group a year later to focus on acting projects.

South Korea has one of the world's highest rates of suicide which, according to recent government figures, is among the top causes of death for those under 40.

(With inputs from agencies)