K-pop star Sulli found dead

Police have announced that Sulli, a former member of the South Korean girl group f(x), has died at her home. The star's manager had gone to the residence in Seongnam, just south of the capital, Seoul, on Monday after the 25-year-old stopped answering phone calls for several hours.

"The investigation is ongoing, and we won't make presumptions about the cause of death," said Kim Seong-tae, an official from the Sujeong district police department in Seongnam, who added that security camera footage at Sulli's home showed no signs of an intrusion.

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Born Choi Jin-ri, Sulli began singing with the five-piece f(x) — one of the most popular groups in South Korea and an act that helped take the K-pop movement global — in 2009.

She left the group in 2015 and launched a career as a solo singer and actress in numerous television dramas and movies. Known for a feminist voice and a rare outspokenness among female entertainers in male-dominated South Korea, Sulli had recently appeared on a TV show in which K-pop stars discussed their experiences with malevolent online comments.  

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In a statement sent to reporters, SM Entertainment, Sulli's talent agency, called her death "very hard to believe and sorrowful."

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