Choi Sung-bong, K-pop star cancer scammer, dead at 33

South Korean pop star Choi Sung-bong, who was exposed for running a viral cancer scam, has died of apparent suicide at age 33.

Police discovered the singer dead at his home in Seoul’s Yeoksam-dong at 9:41 a.m. Tuesday, according to a statement by authorities, the Korea Times reported.

They ruled that Choi had taken his own life due to undisclosed circumstances at home, as well as a note he’d uploaded to YouTube a day before his passing.

In it, he’d apologized “to all who suffered from my foolish mistake.”

Choi was referring to the highly-publicized scandal, in which he was exposed for falsely claiming he had cancer and soliciting donations to fund his treatment, the Hollywood Reporter reported.

Choi is perhaps most famous for competing on the 2011 season of “Korea’s Got Talent,” solidifying his spot in the finals with a knockout rendition of Ennio Morricone’s “Nella Fantasia” that reduced the judges to tears.

The rising star wound up placing second behind lace behind dancer Joo Min-jungby with just 280 votes, per the Independent.

However, the blossoming pop star’s spot resonated beyond the confines of the reality TV competition.

Footage of Choi’s performance quickly blew up online, garnering over 21 million views on YouTube, and earning him praise from pop icons such as Justin Bieber.

“This is awesome,” the “Baby” singer wrote on Facebook, per the Daily Mail. “Never say never, and good luck to this kid. Great story.”

Choi also got signed to the label Korean label Bong Bong Company and penned a memoir chronicling his transformation from orphan to internet celebrity, which earned him comparisons to “Britain’s Got Talent” icon Susan Boyle.

Choi came under scrutiny in 2021 over the aforementioned fundraising campaign, in which he claimed to have been suffering from multiple forms of cancer.

This was eventually revealed to be a hoax.

In the aforementioned note, the disgraced singer apologized for the deception and claimed that he’d “repeatedly made mistakes.”

“Looking back, since I was young, I tried my best to enjoy a normal life, like every day for 10 years, but in the end, I’m sorry,” wrote Choi. “I have no regrets about the journey of life that I have lived brilliantly. I have lived to the best of my ability and tried to have happiness every day.”

The rueful performer added, “I am sincerely sorry to the many people who have been harmed because of me… I’m sorry to the many people who helped me.”

Choi also claimed that he returned all the contributions from the faux fundraiser.

The singer’s passing follows a rash of suspected suicides by Korean celebrities in recent years.

In April, South Korean singer Moonbin — a member of the popular K-pop band Astro and its sub-unit Moonbin & Sanha — was found dead at 25 with authorities suspecting that he took his own life.

In August 2022, South Korean actress Yoo Joo-eun died of a suspected suicide after writing a heartrending note — apologizing to her family and insisting she lived a “happy life that was more than I deserved.”