The person who phoned the police was none other than the taxi driver, who picked up Kwon Hyuk Joo from a drinking outing he'd had with acquaintances. The taxi driver said, "Around the time we passed the Diamond bridge, he seemed to be asleep. When we arrived at the hotel, I tried to wake him up, but he wasn't breathing so I called 119 (emergency number)."�

Kwon Hyuk Joo, who studied violin in Russia at the age of 9 after being recognized as a prodigy, was the first Korean to win 1st place at the Carl Nielsen International Violin Competition in 2004. He was in Busan for an upcoming performance before his untimely death, at age 31.�

Many suspect that Kwon Hyuk Joo's death was a health issue, since he was found to have updated his Instagram with a normal post less than 24 hours prior to his time of discovery.�