Another tragic loss.
Actor Ahn Jae-hwan was found dead in the back seat of a black van at 9am on September 8th. Husband to Jung Sun-hee, the 36 year old left behind a suicide note requesting that his body be donated if found right away. He also apologized to his parents for leaving first and left a few words for his wife stating that he loves her.
In May 2008, Ahn Jae-hwan was forced to stop production on a movie project, entitled, “Icing” due to a lack of funds and disgruntled employees. The actor also had other businesses (cosmetics line with his wife) that were not going well and was known to borrow money from friends and family. His sonbae told reporters that the actor needed half a million dollars of investment for his businesses to start running again.
Police do not suspect foul play and are still investigating the scene. Details from the van reveal that there were 2 empty bottles of soju and 2 charcoal blocks (for heating), one of which was burnt.
Ahn Jae-hwan and Jung Sun-hee were married in November 2007.
R.I.P.
Update: Ahn Jae-hwan was 4 million USD in debt. He died on August 22nd, but his remains were not discovered until September 8th. There is denial that the couple were having marital problems, but they were living separately.
Jung Sun-hee collapsed (below) and was sent to emergency upon hearing the news of her husband’s death.
OMG.. I’m still shocked..
He was always laughing and..
Jung Sun-hee, Fighting!!
I can’t believe it. I’m so sad about it. I like, want to cry. The man must not have known what to do anymore. I also hate the title of this post. It’s not something pleasant, why announce it like this. Like, breaking news! your father died!! wooohoo!!!
That’s just so ridiculous.
and omg, the man is dead. leave him alone. all your advice about what he should’ve done or his state of mind of decisions are moot. they won’t bring him back. he’s DEAD.
leave your condolences and move on. no one needs to hear about all the rest.
just mourn. jeeze!
It was even sadder that he died more than 20 days and no ones knows.
Doesn’t his family get worried that he was not contactable for days?
While this is very, very sad we should not and cannot deny that it is also a very, very selfish act.
When I was depressed and talked about suicide with my equally depressed and suicidal friends, we always ‘plan’ how to execute our suicide without troubling others but GUESS WHAT?!
There’s no such thing.
Unless you have little to NO contact with other human beings, someone will miss you, someone will clean up the mess you leave behind, someone will grieve and someone will feel so cheated.
So ~ DON’T DO IT. Your situation cannot ‘get out’ of you but you SURE AS HELL can get out of your situation.
Someone should be made to explain why he was missing 20 days and no one noticed. This is a very bizarre story.
poor jung sun hee
loved her on heroine 6
oluchi, all this “moot” “advice” isn’t just about bringing him back, obviously. people care about celebs when there’s a feeling of sharing common humanity with them.
sure we project a lot because all we have are images (happy smiling couple! designer clothes on toned bodies! plastic nose!) and the news.
but who can’t feel similar fear and depression about money and marriage troubles? (for me it’s esp. the fact she married a seemingly great guy, but he does the unthinkable when they could have such long life ahead together.)
instead of seeing all this as insensitive (no direct attack of him here), why not consider it’s a matter of “i respect his decision, but i don’t agree”? OK he doesn’t need anyone’s “approval” to kill himself, but a life is connected to so many others…you can’t expect no ripple effect of feelings, opinions.
well.. the fact is, he was 4million dollars in debt..
the stress you get from that..
he couldn’t handle..
man.. can you imagine?? think about it.. if you had 4mil in debt..
about his missing days…
it seems he told his wife/family about taking a vacation.
but they couldn’t reach him by phone!!
4million…
that’s like a top star has to play 10 major roles in movies, or 5~10 CFs of the biggest campaigns in given a season.
and probably 0.5-1% of people get those rates, so he had to go to loan sharks
this is SO SAD
I feel really bad for his family going through this really difficult time
R.I.P. T_T
*sigh*
This is truly sad news to hear the death of one celebrity after another…
Rest in peace Ahn JaeHwan
o m g…
R.I.P
uhh isnt it 40 million
I didn’t know him, bu it’s pretty sad and a shame that such a smart guy succumbed to the pressure of enormous debts in currently difficult Korean economy. RIP and my condolence to his family and friends.
my god thats terrible. i feel so bad for his wife!!!
Oh, this girl’s husband! Now I know, I always see this girl in talk shows…BTW, he was certainly stressed upon hearing the debt of 4 million USD! that’s damn plenty!!!And poor girl, they just married last year and then, the husband died in a tragic suicidal!!! Poor her…
It’s wrong to sit behind your computers and label the man as being cowardish and selfish after reading this short popseoul news article. AJH may have attempted every avenue possible to get out of the hole only to be dissapointed, being 4 million in debt let alone is stressful enough but he also could’ve been threatened daily by loan sharks with a sashimi knife to his throat. No one knows what went through his mind at the last moment of his life, none of you have been in a situation like he has so you can’t be judging him. To AJH, suicide may have been the last resort in his mind for his situation. With that said, I don’t agree with his decision, but to attack a dead man is cruel, immature, and uncalled for. Sympathy, compassion, and prayers is the proper way. RIP Mr. AJH!
never heard of him.
I agree with Judoka’s post
And for those misinformed people, he did not just get drunk on soju(like wtf)
He turned on the 연탄 gas and took sleeping pills
After he died, his body decomposed there for 2 – 3 weeks
It’s a horrible death and for all those people that are calling him a coward, do you think he thought of suicide as his first option? Obviously not.
4 million is a lot of money and the loan sharks didn’t care about him or his public image. He probably thought he had no way out – and he probably didnt.
omg.
R.I.P
.. i was such a fan of Jung Sun-hee, i wanted her to be happy she married him. This is absolutely horrible. What is the industry surcuming to ?
Judoka, you’re absolutely right! Omigod! To think that it was 2-3 weeks before they found his body, makes his death even more tragic! I feel for his wife and parents …
@ ss who said:
why not consider it’s a matter of “i respect his decision, but i don’t agree”? OK he doesn’t need anyone’s “approval” to kill himself, but a life is connected to so many others…you can’t expect no ripple effect of feelings, opinions.
I don’t hear anyone saying “i respect his decision, but i don’t agree.” more “how could he do something so stupid.” i’m not reading sadness and mourning, i’m reading judgement. and how exactly is his life connected to ’so many others?’ you perhaps? did you know him personally? i don’t know why ppl get so personal with anything concerning celebrities. you didn’t know them, they didn’t know you. so why get all pedantic.
but hey, to each his/her own.
i just believe in a little respect for the dead, esp. the ones you don’t know.
also you mentioned that:
(for me it’s esp. the fact she married a seemingly great guy, but he does the unthinkable when they could have such long life ahead together.)
what do you know of that? what do you know of the long life this seemingly great guy could’ve had with his wife? what do you know of him except for those ‘happy images’ displayed in public. like you, i was also shocked to find out he wasn’t so happy.
once again, i’m not censoring opinions here. i just don’t understand how ppl can talk smack about someone they don’t even know.
there is no respect, only ridicule and contempt.
I think some people are posting mean comments because, deep inside, they are jealous and resent celebrities. So, every time bad things happen to them, they take sadistic pleasures.
poor jung sun hee!! RIP ahn jae hwan..
Agrees with Korean Ajjushi
You are so right….really how can you talk bad about the dead…they are probably mean and nasty people.
it’s so sad how he couldn’t get help for it.
Omg.
Rest In Peace.
and Best of luck of recovery for Jung Sun Hee, who seems to be the person who always delivers smiles and laughter to the korean media..
Oh yea to all those dumb ones who say that he is selfish because he left his debt to his wife…..well they didn’t have their marriage license so she is not responsible!!
I wish pictures of the scene of his death had not been published. As a fellow human being show some compassion by respecting his privacy.
some ppl sure are retarded! y would ppl be jealous of a dead person! of course we dont hate the guy…it’s just wrong how ppl would make such a stupid decision in leaving this world w/o caring for their love ones. we all feel bad for his family and surely he cant be rest in peace…when he see his family in ruin below him or above him w/e ppl need to stfu n since this is a public blog..let other ppl talk wtf they WANT! deal with it geez such immature shouldnt be callin other things when they dont even understand the message of others but instead judging others too….n u said we’re judging him but y’all are judgin us so your no different so stfu thank you very much =D
I agree with Judoka and Korean Ajusshi.
RIP =’[
I feel sorry and sad for Jung Sun-Hee about her loss and all the other stuff she has to deal with. If he was in such trouble financially, he should have dealt with it or found other ways to aleve the problem, rather than just find an easy way to get out of the problem.
some of you guys are soo stupid you are no suppose to feel sorry for this dude you are suppose to pity him. he is indeed a sad case. and i pray his wife move on from this awful
situation.
He killed himself because he was being chased by loan sharks and he owed about 4 million dollars, plus he went bankrupt. It said in the news that he took that charcoal thing that kills you and drank alcohol and slept and died. Too bad they didn’t find his body fast enough..it took them a month so he couldn’t donate his organs. how sad.. I feel so sorry for Jung Sun Hee..
omg… i feel so sorry for jung sun hee. the craziest things can happen in this world… and to the most unexpected people.i CANNOT believe what happened.
I honestly don’t feel any sympathy or what not for him now that he’s dead. How dare he leave his wife and family like that? Now she’s left with more of a debt due to funeral expenses and crap. Sure he was having trouble, but his wife was too. Now he puts through all this crap? I mean good lord she collapsed because of him.
I hope his wife can move on from this peacefully, she’s cool.
omg. that is so sad. but suicide?
RIP, poor his wife. But, as far as I know, they haven’t registered their marriage yet, so the bulk of his debt will not go to her. Hate to say this, but his death will probably alleviate his wife’s financial burdens. Also, his principal debts were in the hundreds f thousands, but the high-interest loan shark charge raised that to the $4 millions reported
e gads! i watched him on tv en stuff….
Judoka and korean ahjussi:
I don’t most people, who comment that his suicide is selfish, are jealous. Seriously! I don’t they would be jealous of a man who’s in debt for 4 mill in any way. I agree that suicide is a selfish and immoral act. However, I also do think that most people who commit suicide have serious mental issues. I feel sorry for his wife and his family.
“Wow….they are some horrible people here. Only God can judge…not you people who go on the stupid suicidal people are selfish cuz you guys probably sin everyday…”
Well Tasha as tragic as it is, that is not fair to leave someone with that type of debt and in most cases suicide is selfish. YOu are only thinking of yourself and no one else. Nonetheless, it is one tragedy too many and I wonder if the industry is worth going into. I wish young people would know this. They see the Hyori’s, DBSK, SUJU’s, Kwon Sang Woo’s but those are exceptions not the rule. They see the fame and really don’t take time to understand the business.
condolences. i hope he rest in peace. too bad he had to go that way.
Yes, suicide causes hurt to the people who loved him and we all know it’s not the best way out. The person who committed the act is dealing with his own judgement now. I think that was Tasha’s point. Some people are just preening with self-satisfaction by judging this man thinking to yourselves, “Thank god I’m not like him! What a selfish coward, I would never do something like that!” Good grief. I beg to differ, there is just a lack of compassion and sympathy in young people nowadays.
@ oluchi,
“I don’t hear anyone saying “i respect his decision, but i don’t agree.” more “how could he do something so stupid.””
well i am not a spokesperson for these “anyone” you mention. i can only elaborate on my opinion, which was identifying with the young wife about seeking other options other than suicide. too late, but i can’t help holding onto that feeling.
“i’m not reading sadness and mourning, i’m reading judgement.”
lots of blogs are covering this, and many mourn for his loss. i myself was shaken to the core. keep in mind not all “rudeness” stem from the same source of insensitivity it looks on the surface — people when dealt a hard blow also go through stages of grieving, one of which is anger. again i am not trying to defend/justify offensive remarks you have seen on this issue since the 1st moment it broke out – i’m just saying there is a wide spectrum of personalities in different life-stages/experiences out there. not all of them can be measured to the extent of how well they’re articulated.
“and how exactly is his life connected to ’so many others?’ you perhaps? did you know him personally?”
erm, you’re taking this literally. don’t you see his life touched the celebrities who showed up to mourn him? perhaps some of them was able to help if given a chance? just because i wish he hadn’t done it doesn’t mean i’m actively condemning him. are you expecting everyone to support his death? i’m trying to support life-affirming decisions when dealing with life’s toughest troubles, in the grand scheme of things as society has conversation about tragedies like this when they occur. promoting solutions other than suicide for future cases, is NOT blaming ahn.
“i don’t know why ppl get so personal with anything concerning celebrities. you didn’t know them, they didn’t know you. so why get all pedantic.”
i hope you’re not being pedantic about what’s “appropriate” for people to say either, if it differs even the slightest from what you want to hear.
“also you mentioned that:
(for me it’s esp. the fact she married a seemingly great guy, but he does the unthinkable when they could have such long life ahead together.)
what do you know of that? what do you know of the long life this seemingly great guy could’ve had with his wife? what do you know of him except for those ‘happy images’ displayed in public. like you, i was also shocked to find out he wasn’t so happy.”
keywords: COULD HAVE. you seem to think i’m imposing some kind of personal ideal of “happy newlyweds” onto ahn and jung, probably out of anger at any overly subjective opinions/personalizing of Other People’s Business (which you imply has been mostly about blame.) AGAIN it’s universal to strive towards the positive. i’m not making judgments of measuring how bad things need to get for him to bail out. just advocating for hope because it’s my own defense mechanism cropping up when reading about such dire circumstance.
“once again, i’m not censoring opinions here. i just don’t understand how ppl can talk smack about someone they don’t even know.”
you might want to reserve judgment about how people react in their own grief too, based on just a few online posts.
“there is no respect, only ridicule and contempt.”
not everyone shares these strong emotions to the exact degree of venom you perceive. many are heartbroken.