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On September 20, 2022, actor Jung Joong Ji's mother announced the news of her son's death on Twitter. In the heartbreaking post, she uploaded a picture of herself holding her son's photograph at his funeral and said,
" This is Jung Joong Ji's mother. My son Jung Joong Ji took his own life. I can't describe how I feel right now. "
The other picture in the post showed the actor's burial announcements and details such as funeral dates.
The actor's mother confirmed that her son died by suicide, however, no specific reason behind the actor's drastic decision was mentioned by the family. The unfortunate news comes amidst the alarming number of suicides in South Korea, especially in the world of entertainment and K-pop.
The deceased actor is being fondly remembered by netizens
Fans are posting their tributes to the actor on social media. Going by the posts, it is clear that Jung Joon Ji was loved and followed by many.
More about Produce101 actor Jung Joong Ji
Jung Joong Ji became famous when he participated in MNET's Produce 101 Season 2, the show that gave birth to the K-pop group Wanna One. He was introduced as a Wayz Company trainee. The aspiring actor quickly gained popularity at that time due to his 'boyfriend material' photos and looks on social media.
During the contest, he drew attention towards his talent as a singer and dancer but was unfortunately eliminated in Episode 5. He went on to win the Hanbit Award for the actor category hosted by the Hallyu selection organization committee and hosted his first fan meeting in 2018. His most notable works as an actor include Prison and The Essence of Love.
The singer was also embroiled in s*xual assault allegations. The actor eventually issued a public apology, and the accuser deleted their SNS post.
His clash with former Wanna One member Yoon Ji Sung also came to light, wherein Joong Ji accused the latter of being a bully. He had also opened up about "feeling suicidal" due to malicious comments and haters attacking him online and pleaded,
"No matter what anyone says, I am not lying. No matter who believes me or not, I just wrote the truth with a hand over my heart. No matter who critizises me or not, I'm not afraid because I wrote this truthfully."
He added,
[...] Also, stop sending me direct messages, I'm human too. Stop tormenting me."
Wayz Company also sued the aspiring artist for defamation after he claimed that the agency had cooked up the s*xual assault case for 'noise marketing.' Subsequently, the actor shifted to Think Technique, another broadcasting and entertainment company.
Produce 101 is an MNET survival show that first aired in 2015. The show has aired four seasons to date. The survival show has trainees from different companies competing to form a temporary group.
