A prominent South Korean YouTuber known as Dae Library was found dead in his Seoul home on Saturday, police said, two days after he complained of severe sleep deprivation during a marathon livestream.
Na Dong-hyun, 46, was discovered by officers who responded to calls from friends after he failed to meet them, Seoul police said. Authorities reported no immediate signs of foul play and no suicide note at the scene; investigators said they were examining whether a pre-existing medical condition could have contributed to his death.
Just two days before his body was found, Dae Library told followers in a livestream that he had gotten very little sleep while attending Seoul Fashion Week. "I think I slept for about three hours after getting my hair and makeup done from morning," he said during the broadcast. His final stream lasted more than five hours, during which he spoke with fans and played games.
Dae Library had been an active content creator on YouTube since 2010 and amassed more than 1.4 million subscribers. He married fellow influencer Yumdeng in 2015; the couple divorced in 2023 after eight years together, according to public records and past coverage of his career.
Police in Seoul said routine investigative steps were under way, including a review of medical history and circumstances surrounding the streamer’s recent activities. Authorities have not released results of any medical examinations or a cause of death.
The South Korean influencer’s death comes weeks after the August death of a French streamer, Raphael Graven, known online as Jean Pormanove, which drew international attention to the risks associated with live-streaming. Graven, 46, was found dead at a residence in Contes, north of Nice, after video circulated showing him subjected to slaps, kicks and other humiliations during live broadcasts. French prosecutors said forensic examinations found no evidence that his death was traumatic in origin and that medical examiners reported no internal or external traumatic injuries beyond a few bruises and healed lesions. Two men seen in the footage, identified by French authorities as Owen Cenazendotti and Safine Hamadi, have been publicly linked to those streams.
Both cases have prompted renewed attention to the health and safety of digital creators who undertake extended or extreme broadcasts. South Korean police said they would provide updates as their inquiry into Na Dong-hyun’s death proceeds and urged the public to await official findings before drawing conclusions.
No funeral or memorial arrangements had been announced by Saturday evening.