Kim Jonghyun
Kim Jonghyun, the lead singer of SHINee, commits suicideInstagram

Kim Jong-hyun, the lead singer of the South Korean boy band SHINee, passed away on Monday. Jong-hyun, who was taken to hospital in an unconscious state, had committed suicide, according to Korean media.

The lead singer with thousands of followers was found unconscious at his home in Seoul, South Korea. He was taken to hospital where he was declared dead.

A statement from Gangnam Police said that the singer's sister had called cops to inform that Jong-hyun was threatening to take his life.

"On December 18, 2017 at 4:42PM Jonghyun's older sister reported to Police that her brother was about to commit suicide. We went to his residence in Chungdam and discovered that he had attempted to commit suicide with brown coal briquettes lit inside a frying pan. Emergency responders were with us at the time so we rushed him to the Konkuk University Hospital in a state of cardiac arrest," the statement read, according to Koreaboo.

The publication further reported that Jong-hyun had texted a suicide note to his sister, but it has not been made public.

Police are yet to find the cause of his death, but reports suggest that he died of carbon monoxide poisoning, which might have caused by "brown coal briquettes lit inside a frying pan."

Meanwhile, his heartbroken followers and celebrities took to social media to mourn the death of the singer.