[WARNING: Article below contains details and images some may find graphic and upsetting.]

After attending school in the United States at SUNY Albany, 26-year-old Sunny "LaROK" Kim moved back to Busan, South Korea to work as a professor. Once back home, she met her future boyfriend, referred to in the media as 24-year-old "Mr. Lee," constantly sending back photos of the two happily posing to friends back in the United States. 

(Sunny Kim with Mr. Lee in a Facebook post.)

While everything seemed to be going extremely well for this bright individual, there were darker troubles brewing underneath the surface. Her sisters reported that Mr. Lee would often beat her, even as she kneeled and begged for him to stop. 

Despite photographic evidence brought forward to the police, no charges against Mr. Lee were ever pressed. 

(Abuses included bruises, black eyes, and broken fingers.)

On May 2nd, she went missing, yet her phone continued to send out text messages to friends and family. The writing style of the messages were similar to Sunny's writing style, with family and friends not even realizing that Sunny was missing for two whole weeks. Lee even contacted Sunny's new employer, claiming she was declining the job offer to move back to the United States. 

Two weeks after the murder of his girlfriend, Mr. Lee turned himself in after an apparent suicide attempt, an act Kim's peers have called "a stunt to show he feels guilty." He admitted he had killed her after she tried to break up with him. On May 18, police found her body stashed in a suitcase and buried in a hole covered over with cement in Jecheon, South Korea; they would describe her body to be "badly damaged." 

Described as a selfless, caring individual, Sunny Kim worked hard to support her family, even helping to pay for her sister's tuition. To show their love for Sunny, her friends held a vigil last week in New York to commemorate her life. allkpop intern and sorority sister of Sunny Kim, Sarah Yoo, expressed her own thoughts on the incident. "I remember when I first heard of the news, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I kept thinking that she must have been a big sister for someone in the sorority, someone's best friend, and of course a precious family member," she stated. "This hit close to home and reminded me that anyone can be a victim of domestic violence. Although weeks have passed since the incident, my sorority sisters and I will always keep Sunny's story close to our hearts." 

Her friends are holding a fundraiser to help support her grieving family at this difficult time. 

Mr. Lee is currently awaiting trial. 

Our condolences to her friends and family, and may Sunny Kim rest in peace.