Aju Business Daily

SEOUL -- South Korea's entertainment industry was struck with shock over the sudden death of Goo Ha-ra, a former Kara member, in less than two months after the suicide of her best friend, Sulli. Both had suffered from extreme mental distress because they were the constant target of online hate comments created by cyberbullies.

Goo Ha-ra, better known as Hara, was found dead Sunday at her home in southern Seoul. Police and government officials called for a cautious media approach as the K-pop community was still reeling from the suicide of Choi Jin-ri, a former f(x) member known by her stage name Sulli, on October 14.

"A handwritten note of pessimism was found on the living room table," Lee Yong-pyo, commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, told reporters on Monday. He said that Hara was found dead by her housekeeper who made an unnoticed visit because Hara had been out of contact.

"Based on an on-site inspection or the testimony of the bereaved families, there seems to be no criminal suspicion," Lee said, adding that the analysis of CCTV video showed that nobody had visited Hara's house since she returned home at 0:35 a.m. on Sunday.

Hara and Sulli had been close friends who shared sadness and loneliness because they had been dogged by hate comments and malicious rumors. When Sulli died, Hara fell into extreme grief. All procedures for Hara's funeral at a hospital morgue in southern Seoul were private with only relatives and acquaintances allowed to pay respects.

Hara joined Kara in 2008. She went solo in July 2015 but her activity was put on hold in September last year when she was caught up in a revenge pornography case. Her ex-boyfriend, identified as Choi Jong-bum, accused Hara of assaulting him. Hara argued that shed had been beaten and blackmailed with sex video and image files showing their sexual relationship.

In May this year, Hara was hospitalized for attempting suicide. Three months later, a district court in Seoul sentenced the ex-boyfriend to 18 months in prison with a stay of execution for three years, ruling he was found guilty of threats, coercion, injury and property damage. It was not a premeditated crime, but Hara's lawyer insisted that the singer had been afraid of people watching the sex video.

After her contract with a South Korean entertainment agency expired in January, Hara signed a contract with a Japanese agency, Production Ogi, and released her Japanese single, Midnight Queen, on November 13.

Various forms of cyberbullying such as online hate comments against celebrities have long been a social problem in South Korea. Some entertainers have committed suicide due to depression aggravated by malicious online comments. Sulli was put under a barrage of hate comments for many years for uploading images that they thought were provocative. She had bravely fought back against cyberbullies, unlike many other artists who kept their mouths shut.

Sulli's death prompted South Korean portals to strengthen regulations on hate and character-defaming comments.