On November 20, 1995, a singer passed away. His name was Kim Sungjae, a member of a popular duo group Deux.
Seo Taeji and Kids was a phenomenon around the entire country, and Deux was especially influential among teenagers and they had many hardcore fans in Seoul. Everything about Deux was a hot topic and their sales were great. Deux's fashion was also very influential.
When Deux was at their peak, Lee Hyundo and Kim Sungjae promised to re-unite later and disbanded Deux. They then prepared for their solo albums. Deux fans knew Lee Hyundo and Kim Sungjae were best friends for life.
- Kim Sungjae's solo debut stage
Kim Sungjae made his solo debut on SBS Gayo 20. His debut stage gained praises immediately, it was very successful. After the debut stage, he spent the night at a hotel with his back-up dancers and his girlfriend, Kim.
But on the very next day of his debut stage, he was found dead in the hotel. As police investigated his dead body, they found 28 needle marks on his right arm. The cause of his death was tiletamine-zolazepam, which was found in zoletile and terazole (animal stimulant). Someone had injected the stimulant into his body.
Another thing was that he was wearing a long-sleeve shirt. According to Kim Sungjae's mother, he never wore a long sleeve-shirt to sleep. He always slept shirtless or with a sleeve-less shirt. It was very possible that the person who injected him had put the shirt on him to hide the needle marks.
A possibility of him being on drugs surfaced, but it did not make sense for Kim Sungjae to be on drugs. He had good connections with his family, his friends, and with everyone. He also just had his solo debut stage. Besides, Kim Sungjae's face never showed a sign of drugs. Lastly, he was right-handed and the injection marks were on his right arm. If he injected himself, the needle marks would've been on his left arm.
The prime suspect was his girlfriend, Kim. There were many evidences proving her murder.
1) Other dancers went to the room to sleep, Kim Sungjae slept in the living room, and Kim was also in the living room.
2) Kim had a serious obsession with him.
- Whenever his fans came up to him, she stopped them
- One day, she tied him up when he was asleep, so he couldn't make it to his appointment to sign a contract
- She had shot him with a gas gun
- She contacted Kim Sungjae's friends and always knew what he was doing
- When he was in the US, she called him everyday so he got frustrated and didn't answer her phone calls
- Kim found out that Kim Sungjae was dating someone else from US, which might've triggered her anger
3) A back-up dancer, who was in the hotel room, had said he heard a washing machine running in the middle of a night. He woke up, peaked in the living room and saw Kim doing something.
4) A pharmacist said that Kim bought the animal stimulant from his store. He asked why she was buying it and she answered it was for her dog. Kim also told him not to tell anyone about it.
5) Kim was the one who brought the long sleeve shirt Kim Sungjae was wearing.
6) Kim tried to pay the police to stop them from examining Kim Sungjae's body.
In the first trial, the court admitted Kim's murder and sentenced her to death. In the prison, Kim kept denying her crime. In the second trial, she was sentenced to life in prison.
The third trial changed everything. The witnesses, including the pharmacist, changed their words and said they did not remember anything. Also, the powerful ones sided with Kim. She received verdict of not guilty. The court's reason for her innocence was because the animal stimulant she bought was not enough to kill him. Another reason was that she had no reasons to kill him because their relationship did not have serious problems. Generally, it was because of "lack of evidence".
The prosecution asked for an appeal to Supreme Court but the Court rejected the appeal.
When she was not found guilty, Deux fans were enraged and so was Lee Hyundo. He was promoting as Sajahu at that time which was a big hit. When he heard the result, he halted all of his promotions.
Kim's family is extremely rich. They own ten pharmacies and one of Kim's relatives is a politician. Rumors said she won this case because of her powerful family. Kim herself was also a medical student and is now a dentist. Kim Sungjae's fans found that she got plastic surgery, changed her name, and is living a rich life as a dentist.
- Lee Hyundo<Lee Hyundo talked about this on TV> - A day before Kim Sungjae was leaving the US to have his debut stage in Korea, Lee Hyundo and Kim Sungjae had fights because Lee Hyundo was sad to see him go. As Kim Sungjae was leaving, he smiled and said goodbye to Lee Hyundo. He gave his hand for a handshake, but Lee Hyundo didn’t take his hand. On that day, Lee Hyundo had a strange dream. In the dream, Kim Sungjae and Lee Hyundo had finished their schedule and they had many fans approaching them with flowers. What's weird was that all the fans went to Lee Hyundo and they gave their flowers to him. Not a single fan went to Kim Sungjae, who was smiling from far away. Lee Hyundo went to him and gave some of his flowers, but Kim Sungjae said, "It's OK. I'm gonna get tons of flowers tomorrow."
After Kim Sungjae's death, Lee Hyundo released remembrance albums for Kim Sungjae continuously and always remembered his best friend.
Kim Sungjae's death is portrayed in the media until today. SBS drama "Sign" had aired an episode directing his death. On Immortal Song, Vixx performed Kim Sungjae's solo stage "To Put It In Words"
Article: Vixx 'To Put It In Words', Kim Sungjae's mother sobs hard (Immortal Song)
1. [+462, -7] Ravi's rap was about the court, I think he wrote it on purpose. Goosebumps.
2. [+437, -9] I'm their fan but they're idols and other casts were too strong so I wasn't anticipating it, but I got goosebumps at Ravi's rap... I think he wrote it on purpose... Their clothings were black and white and I got goosebumps when they did a silent tribute at the end... I was thankful when Kim Sungjae's mother gave them compliments.
3. [+111, -0] (TN: This is Ravi's rap in the performance)
I'm a silent witness hiding the truth.
Not entering a trial with an obvious result
Because it's a human instinct.
The words I can't speak.
To put it in words, I mean I love you.
In this pitch darkness
I hear your comet-like voice.
5. [+96, -0] I wasn't anticipating them at all because they were idols and other casts were all legendary singers, but Vixx was daebak. I think they didn't debut long ago and yet their class was whoa... I got goosebumps when they started to sing.
6. [+85, -0] I'm a silent witness hiding the truth - The witnesses who lied
A trial with an obvious result - The trial will obviously get buried because of the powerful ones
Not entering because it's a human instinct - We have no choice but to obey to the powerful ones
I hear your comet-like voice - The court drama
7. [+72, -1] Honestly, the overall performance was good, but the daebak part was the rap... Hope the bitch feels guilty ㅡㅡ I hope Kim Sungjae's mother didn't catch the rap, though ㅠㅠ
8. [+65, -1] It was an incident that taught what would happen if you meet a wrong person
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
