Pianist Im Dong-hyuk left a post presumed to be a suicide note on his account and attempted an extreme act, prompting a police response.
At around 7 a.m. on the 16th, Im Dong-hyuk left a long handwritten letter on his social account. Through the letter, Im Dong-hyuk said, "I have suffered from severe depression while living my life as a performer. Since 2015 I have taken antidepressants nearly every day. Actually, antidepressants themselves are not bad drugs. It would be fine to take them for life. But they continuously gnawed at me because of my chronic illness," he began.
He continued, "In the end music was my everything. There are materials I wrote on my computer that I did not publish. They concern my ex-wife and Mr. B. After I am gone they will probably be released separately," he hinted at an extreme choice.
Earlier, Im Dong-hyuk was sued in 2022 on charges of sending obscene photos and obscene messages to his wife, who was in the middle of a divorce suit. The police transferred Im Dong-hyuk to the prosecution on charges of using a communication medium for obscenity, but the prosecution found that a "sexual purpose" was not established and dismissed the case. However, ex-wife A released on an online community screenshots of obscene messages she said she received from Im Dong-hyuk along with photos suggesting an affair and prostitution, causing a stir. Later, Im Dong-hyuk was tried on prostitution charges and was fined 1,000,000 won in the first trial held in September this year.
In a handwritten letter, Im Dong-hyuk said, "My ex-wife A accused me of sending 'obscene messages' during our divorce suit and condemned me. But I did not send obscene messages and we were not in the middle of a divorce suit. A had a hobby of collecting adult products. On Sept. 15, 2019, that person invited famous Korean artists to a group chat and defamed me, so I, trying to be gentlemanly, sent that person's belongings separately," and claimed, "That person threatened me, saying they would make a false #MeToo break out against me." He also said he was assaulted by A and appealed, "I am only listing items for which there are recordings and evidence. They will all be revealed after my death," and said, "All of this happened because my agency told me to stay quiet, so I stayed quiet," expressing his grievance.
Regarding the fine for prostitution, he said, "I was wrong," but expressed a sense of betrayal, saying that a person called "Mr. B" "entered my phone, stole recording files, and even registered his own face on my iPhone without my knowledge, and with the stolen files reported me." He added, "In any case, I have had prostitution experience in my life and I was wrong. My mind and body could no longer endure, so I decided to accept the first trial. As I said earlier, legally whatever the reasoning, there was an experience and God will know it, so I thought of it as punishment for that."
He named the person known as Mr. B and claimed, "He was pure evil itself and a sociopath. He used my resentment and torment over my ex-wife to threaten, control and abuse me." Although there was no clear explanation of who Mr. B is, given that Im Dong-hyuk filed complaints in October 2023 accusing a former lover of extortion and threats, it is presumed to refer to a former lover.
Im Dong-hyuk said, "Because of her (Ms. B), I now take about 25 pills a day, including various psychotropic drugs. My mind and body have collapsed; I feel very lonely and isolated. I was certainly not an angel, but this world was too harsh for me to live in," and appealed, "In the end it is all my negligence and fault. But please believe me. I may be somewhat crude, but my music is not," he pleaded. Along with this, Im Dong-hyuk attached materials supporting that he did not send obscene photos to the aforementioned A and said, "I am gone now, but I will leave this to a friend because I think it will be all right to speak after I am gone."
A post that seemed to hint at an extreme choice prompted a police response. According to Yonhap News Agency the same day, Seocho District in Seoul responded to a report that "Im Dong-hyuk is a concern" at around 8:30 a.m. that day and went to a location in Seocho-dong, Seocho District, to rescue Im Dong-hyuk. Im Dong-hyuk is receiving treatment at a nearby hospital and is reported to be out of life-threatening danger.
Meanwhile, Im Dong-hyuk is a pianist who gained global attention by sweeping the world's three major competitions: the Queen Elizabeth Competition, the Chopin Competition and the Tchaikovsky Competition.
※ If you are struggling with difficult issues such as depression or if you have a family member or acquaintance experiencing such difficulties, you can receive 24-hour professional counseling via the suicide prevention hotline ☎109, mental health counseling hotline ☎1577-0199, hope hotline ☎129, life hotline ☎1588-9191, youth hotline ☎1388, the youth mobile counseling app "I'll listen to everything" and KakaoTalk.
[photo] Im Dong-hyuk SNS
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