section_path: Death and funeral
section_name: Death and funeral
paragraph_text: Death and funeral
  
  On February 16, 2025, at 16:54 (KST), Kim was found dead by a friend in her home in Seongsu-dong, Seongdong District, Seoul. She was 24 years old. The next day, after an investigation, police officials ruled her death a suicide. Prior to her funeral, a wake was held at the Asan Medical Center in Seoul where several celebrities paid their respects. A private funeral was held at the same venue on the morning of February 19. She was temporarily placed at Tongil-ro Memorial Park in Paju, and buried at a third memorial service on February 21 at Utopia Memorial Park in Anseong.
  
  Kwon Young-chan, head of a civic group working to prevent suicide among public figures, stated to reporters that Kim's father had informed him that she was deeply affected by scathing content posted on social media that exposed parts of her private life. In the approximately 1,000 days between her drunk-driving crash in May 2022 and her death, South Korean mainstream news organizations published around 2,000 stories on Kim, many of which were sensational and negative. After the incident, YouTube gossip channels criticized her private life, claiming without evidence that she was exaggerating her financial struggles by working at coffee shops and showed a lack of remorse through social media posts. Yu Hyun-jae, a communications professor at Sogang University, noted that traditional media amplify unsubstantiated social media and YouTube drama claims, often bypassing fact-checking to drive viewership amid declining audience. Heo Chan-haeng, an executive director at the Center for Media Responsibility and Human Rights, stated after the actress's death: "Her private life was indiscriminately reported beyond what was necessary".
  
  Her death drew harsh criticism of the harmful ways the media treats celebrities, which fosters a culture of harassment.
  
  On February 16, 2025, at 16:54 (KST), Kim was found dead by a friend in her home in Seongsu-dong, Seongdong District, Seoul. She was 24 years old. The next day, after an investigation, police officials ruled her death a suicide. Prior to her funeral, a wake was held at the Asan Medical Center in Seoul where several celebrities paid their respects. A private funeral was held at the same venue on the morning of February 19. She was temporarily placed at Tongil-ro Memorial Park in Paju, and buried at a third memorial service on February 21 at Utopia Memorial Park in Anseong.
  
  Kwon Young-chan, head of a civic group working to prevent suicide among public figures, stated to reporters that Kim's father had informed him that she was deeply affected by scathing content posted on social media that exposed parts of her private life. In the approximately 1,000 days between her drunk-driving crash in May 2022 and her death, South Korean mainstream news organizations published around 2,000 stories on Kim, many of which were sensational and negative. After the incident, YouTube gossip channels criticized her private life, claiming without evidence that she was exaggerating her financial struggles by working at coffee shops and showed a lack of remorse through social media posts. Yu Hyun-jae, a communications professor at Sogang University, noted that traditional media amplify unsubstantiated social media and YouTube drama claims, often bypassing fact-checking to drive viewership amid declining audience. Heo Chan-haeng, an executive director at the Center for Media Responsibility and Human Rights, stated after the actress's death: "Her private life was indiscriminately reported beyond what was necessary".
  
  Her death drew harsh criticism of the harmful ways the media treats celebrities, which fosters a culture of harassment.