After three years trying to top up a career, one of SG Wannabe’s members, Chae Dong-ha, decided to leave SG Wannabe and focus on doing a solo career. However, in 2009, Chae Dong-ha’s favorite manager died and he became severely depressed. Chae Dong-ha decided to commit suicide by hanging himself at his house. Previously he also wrote a letter that he was very fond of his manager because he always made him laugh and made it possible for the idol to have everything. Want to know more about him? Stay tuned!
Full Profile of Chae Dong-ha
Real Name : Choi Do-sik Stage Name : Chae Dong-ha Date of Birth : June 23, 1981 Date of Death : May 27, 2011 Position : Lead Vocal Age : 29 years old Height : 182 cm Weight : 73 kg Education : Broadcast from Seoul Institute of The Arts
Chae Dong-ha’s Career with SG Wannabe
SG Wannabe was a boy-group under WS Entertainment, which debuted in 2004 with the song Timeless, which successfully made their name famous and stole the attention of many people with their amazing concept and vocals. Unlike the other boy-groups, SG Wannabe decided to abstain from promoting their music at first, declining to show music in their own videos; the group stated that they wished their audience to care more about the music, rather than their appearance. However, when they reached the peak of their popularity, one of SG Wannabe’s members, Chae Dong-ha, decided to leave the group in 2008 to focus on his career as a soloist. Besides being famous as a singer, Chae Dong-ha was also a songwriter and an actor. He was recognized as the former leader of SG Wannabe. With the group, he became popular with their album becoming Korea’s best selling album of the year in 2007. Prior to joining SG Wannabe, Chae actually debuted as a solo singer in 2002, with his album Na Ture.
Chae Dong-ha released four albums with SG Wannabe. Each of the albums broke various music records and received awards in the music industry. The first album, SG Wannabe+, won Best New Artist in all the newcomer awards with the track title Timeless. The second album, Saldaga (2005,) was number one in album sales and they won Daesang in the year end music awards. For the third album, The 3rd Masterpiece (2006), they were the first to release a digital album. During this time, they were also vocal trainers and producers for See Yes, the first album, from which they won the Best Producer award. SG Wannabe released their fourth album in 2007 and the Daesang home store in Golden Disk Award.
After leaving SG Wannabe, Chae Dong-ha took some time out to prepare for a solo career. He was ready to captivate the hearts of music lovers with his powerful voice colored with rich emotions. His last album was an ambitious endeavor which featured 40-plus pages of photos and 12 tracks, making it one of the must-have albums. He said that he put his heart and soul into the album so that anyone who listens to it can feel his sincerity and dedication to music. After returning from a tour in Japan, on May 2011 Chae Dong-ha surprised many people by committing suicide in his own house, by hanging himself. The agency stated that Chae Dong-ha passed a very heavy depression and since his manager died the idol had no reason to fight with his depression and committed suicide.
Chae Dong-ha’s Departure from SG Wannabe
After struggling with SG Wannabe for 3 years since debuting in 2004, in 2008 Chae Dong-ha decided to leave the group and to focus on his solo career. After he left SG Wannabe, Lee Suk-hoon became the new member recruited to replace him. With Chae Dong-ha, who was a departure and their last performance together, the two original members expressed, “At a time like this, we are working doubly hard for the performances this time. We are making sure that we leave no behind-performing regrets with Chae Dong Ha for the last time.”
Chae Dong-ha’s Cause of Death and Funeral Photos
Previously, Chae Dong-ha was busy with the promotion of his songs in Japan. When contacted by management, Chae Dong-ha’s cellphone was inactive, causing the agency to call 911 to check on Chae Dong-ha’s house. After arriving at Chae Dong-ha’s house, the police found Chae Dong-ha dead by suicide at his home. The agency also stated that Chae Dong-ha had serious depression. In addition, fChae Dong-ha’s former manager died by suicide from inhaling gas in a hotel room. The manager was the source of Dong-ha’s encouragement in carrying out his days. Dong-ha considered his former manager as a friend, brother, and entertainment. Dong-ha even felt he couldn’t live without his manager. Because of his heavy depression, Dong-ha decided to commit suicide by hanging himself. His death certainly surprised many parties, especially his family. Since the death of his manager, Chae Dong-ha did have a difficult time because he lost the person he trusted most. Chae Dong-ha’s manager Choi Do-shik told police, “He had suffered from depression and went to see a doctor regularly.” Drugs for anxiety and insomnia were on the dinner table at his home. His doctor prescribed drugs for six days Monday, but Chae went to the doctor again the next day to ask for drugs for an additional seven days, saying, “I lost the drugs while I was washing my car.” Police said, however, “an overdose of the drugs found at his home did not directly lead to death.” Well, let’s pray for him. Rest In Peace, Chae Dong-ha.
