Korean actress Oh In-hye died of a cardiac arrest in a South Korea hospital on Monday evening. She was 36.
Earlier in the day, a friend found Oh In-hye unconscious at her home in Incheon, South Korea. Oh was transported to Inha University Hospital and at one point was reported to be recovering, though she did not reawaken.
The circumstances leading up to her death have not been announced by a coroner, and investigations are still ongoing.
However, it is strongly suspected that she died by suicide.
“We have found no reason to suspect murder and there were no signs of intrusion into Ms. Oh’s house,” a police spokesperson said. “It appears she made an extreme choice.” The police also explained that Oh had been suffering from depression.
Oh In-hye debuted in the 2011 film “Sin of A Family,” but attracted notoriety the same year for wearing a revealing dress to an awards ceremony. She later explained that she was new in the film industry at the time and had only a limited wardrobe.
She appeared in the minor hit film “Red Vacance, Black Wedding,” 2014’s “The Plan” and recently starred in the TV drama “539 Yeonnam-dong.”
More recently, she launched a YouTube channel with videos about beauty and fashion tips, and collaborated on the duet “Sorry” with singer Nautilus.
The South Korean entertainment industry is notoriously harsh on performers, who are often subject to years of tough training and strict grooming under long-term management contracts.
Despite that, success is uncertain and social media responses to entertainers who are perceived to have slipped up in any way can be instant and brutal.