Super Junior Leeteuk
One of the most well-known figures in Kpop Idol, Leeteuk of Super Junior, has a complicated personal life. Aside from training at one of the greatest entertainment firms and adhering to their rules, he had to struggle with his family and father.
There was breaking news on January 6, 2014. According to a source, the popular K-pop boy band member, Leeteuk’s father and grandmother were all found dead at their home, and the South Korean Police were looking into their deaths.
The following day, representatives from the star’s management company, SM Entertainment, announced that the family members had perished in an automobile accident in an apparent effort to shield the celebrity from negative press. Since then, it has been revealed that the three actually passed away at their house in what the authorities believe to have been an apparent murder-suicide. When Leeteuk learned of the news, he was performing his job in the South Korean military( which makes this story even more heartbreaking).
After his divorce in 1998, Leeteuk’s father moved in with his parents. Leeteuk’s father developed depression while taking care of his parents on his own after learning that they both had Alzheimer’s disease and that his mother also had lung cancer. Although his father had taken care of his parents, he had racked up a debt of hundreds of thousands of dollars at the time. Their house was removed because he attempted to conduct business but kept failing. He intended to transfer his parents to a hospital that could provide better care for them, but he killed himself and his parents first. Parts of a suicide note that were discovered by authorities and made public, he wrote,
“I’m going to take my parents together and go to heaven. I am sorry for my children.”
The military suggested an early discharge for him due to what he was going through at the time. However, Leeteuk decided to finish his military service after discussing it with his company, SM Entertainment.
Leeteuk racked up debt to his father of 5 million, and he had to sell his car and take any permanent job offered to pay off his father’s debt, which meant that he was probably only getting a few hours of sleep each night. Leeteuk declared in 2016 that he was still striving to pay off his father’s debt after making the morally right decision to do so.
“I am telling you my family story to tell you that a celebrity’s life is not all that it seems; it is filled with despair and sadness much like everyone else’s.”
Leeteuk’s Father and Grandparents Were Found Dead in Their Home. (2019, January 22). Channel-K. Retrieved October 13, 2022, from https://channel-korea.com/leeteuks-family-tragedy/
This is such a heartbreaking story. It must have been so difficult for him to have a public life and career after such a terrible event.
This is heartbreaking; it is sad to hear when this happens to someone, especially someone you love. It is interesting to hear it from celebrities because we never really hear the dark parts of a celebrity’s life.