The funeral for the late violinist Kwun Hyuk-joo will be held on Saturday following a wake at the SMG-SNU Boramae Medical Center in Seoul.

The 31-year-old violinist was found dead inside a taxi in Busan in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

According to police statements, following a rehearsal on Tuesday night for the following day’s concert, the violinist went to a friend’s house where he and his companions drank alcohol. Kwun reportedly got into a taxi shortly after midnight on Wednesday, heading back to his hotel in the Haeundae district.

While en route, the taxi driver said he noticed the passenger wasn’t moving but presumed he had simply fallen asleep. Upon arrival at his hotel around 12:30 a.m., the driver attempted to wake Kwun but found that he wasn’t breathing and called the authorities. 

According to the driver, a hotel worker performed CPR but was unable to restart his heart.

The violinist was officially pronounced dead at 1:27 a.m.

Police said that they found various heart medication in the musician’s possession, raising the suspicion that a pre-existing health condition may have caused his death. An autopsy is expected to be carried out.

The 31-year old started playing the violin at the age of 3 and went on to study in Russia when he was 11. In 1997, he won second place in the International Tchaikovsky Competition for young musicians in Moscow. Kwun came into the international spotlight in 2004 when he became the first Korean to win first place at the Carl Nielsen International Violin Competition.

In 2012, he was appointed the youngest professor at Anyang University.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)