Choi Jin Shil was found to have commited suicide in her home in Seocho, Seoul. According to the police, her body was found this morning in her bathroom at 6.15am. “We received word of her suicide and went to verify it. Her death was confirmed at 7.38am,” said the police. It was revealed by another police officer that her mother had called the police after discovering that she had hanged herself with an elastic band tied to the shower stall in the bathroom.

According to the Seocho police at a press conference this afternoon, Choi Jin Shil had entered the bathroom late last night and locked herself in. Her mother asked for her to open the door but Choi said nothing was wrong and asked her to turn in first. Her mother proceeded like usual and slept at 0.30am in her grandchildren’s room. She woke up at around 4 in the morning and realized something was amiss when seeing how neat and proper Choi Jin Shil’s bed was. She realized that the bathroom was still locked and knocked on it for the next 35 minutes without a reply. She called for the locksmith who came around 6 and prised the door open, finding Choi Jin Shil hanging from the shower stall. Choi’s mother notified her sons immediately who then called 119.
 
The police also revealed the possible last words that she had, “Choi’s make-up artist received a text message from her at 12.45am. She wrote ‘my friend, I am sorry, if something happens to me, please take care of my kids’. Her words hinting at the eventual path that she took a few hours later.”

She is likely to have been pushed over the edge over the fact that she had a hand to play in Ahn Jae Hwan’s death who committed suicide last month by lending him 2.5M USD. But she had alleged that it was a malicious rumor and had threatened legal action. The final straw came when she was invited to Seocho police station for an interview for any possible involvement. 

“Although it was a routine procedure, but she must have felt that her reputation went down the drain and was a big blow to her,” her management explained. Her co-star Sohn Hyun Joo had been filming a CF with Choi Jin Shil yesterday and expressed, “She looked really weary when she appeared. Her face looked really bad and we had to stop after 2 hours because she found it difficult.”



She leaves behind a 7-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter whom she had won custody of after her lengthy and ugly divorce with her ex-husband and baseball player Cho Sung Min in 2004. My condolences to her family members.