Shocker! 21-year-old South Korean rapper fakes his death
South Korean underground rapper Jung Joon-hyuk, known by his stage name Ch1tkey, recently shocked the online community with reports of his death. The 21-year-old artist was allegedly killed while participating in a social media challenge on a rooftop near Sangbong Station on Subway Line 7 in Seoul. However, it has now been confirmed that the reported death was a hoax and Jung is alive and well.
Details of Ch1tkey's planned social media prank revealed
Reports of Jung's supposed demise first surfaced online on Monday, with close friends claiming he had died after falling from a rooftop during a live-streamed social media challenge. One of Ch1tkey's acquaintances stated, "We were trying to do a prank on a roof. One of us promised our viewers that if we gained a certain amount of followers on Instagram, Cht1key would jump off a roof." "Ch1tkey was supposed to pretend to fall...but he slipped and fell."
Ch1tkey was allegedly pronounced dead
The acquaintance further alleged that "Ch1tkey was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead." They stated, "He fell from a 5-story building...A friend went to check on him thinking he was joking, but Ch1tkey was unresponsive so they called the police. Ch1tkey was pronounced dead at the hospital." A woman—believed to be his girlfriend—also publicly mourned his alleged sudden death on social media platforms. However, these reports were later debunked as false information.
Police and building official debunked death rumors
A few hours after the rumors began, a police official from Jungnang-gu, Seoul stated that there had been "no reports of incidents related to Jung Joon-hyuk (Ch1tkey) near Sangbong-dong on July 29." An official from the building where the alleged accident occurred also confirmed seeing Jung after his supposed "death." "I met him at the entrance this morning, and he went into his room. There was nothing wrong," the official reported to a South Korean media outlet.
Ch1tkey returns to social media post-death hoax
Following the debunking of his death rumors, Jung returned to social media with a new video seemingly filmed at the same rooftop where his death was reported to have occurred. He also posted Instagram Stories that read, "Sorry to the rappers on Show Me the Money and broadcast rappers. I'll take it from here" and "I'm Illuminati," showcasing a confident demeanor. His death hoax has drawn heavy criticism from netizens who believe he faked his death for social media clout.
