Tragedy struck a member of the K-Pop world today as Jose Arredondo, the father of K-Pop idol Samuel Kim, was found dead in his home in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico following an apparent home invasion.
Arredondo, who just turned 58-years old July 8, 2019, showed signs of blunt force trauma according to prosecutors. The reports indicate he may have been beaten to death. Arredondo’s pastor stated the well-known car dealer was stabbed. Cabo’s local news outlet, Tribunal de Los Cabos, reports the same details.
Several media outlets consider Arredondo’s life to be a classic “rags-to-riches” tale. Arredondo was the fourth child in a family of 11 children. In his youth, he picked crops in Cualcoman, Mexico until he crossed the border into the United States with his sister, Laura, in 1971. He was 11-years old at the time when he and his sister came to America to join their mother in Valencia, California.
“I was frightened to death to come to a country without knowing the language, but I was hungry for a better life,” Arredondo said of his coming-to-America experience.
Arredondo then built himself from the ground up. Prior to owning car dealerships and a real estate firm, he worked as a car washer. From here, he worked his way up in the business.
According to Automotive Buy Sell Report, Arredondo was a champion for education and ensuring young people obtained their degrees. In an interview, Arredondo admitted he dropped out of school when he was a teen so he could help his family and because his family couldn’t afford to keep him in school. Yearly, he sponsored over 100 scholarships for young people wanting to further their educations.
I have a lot in common with those youngsters that have the ambition to finish school but not the funds,” Arredondo said.
In addition to sponsoring scholarships, Arredondo gave away cars on Mother’s Day, fed the homeless on Thanksgiving, helped families with burial costs, and supported various charities the Central Valley.
“It’s our responsibility as human beings to help these people. When you help someone, you get stronger,” Arredondo said in 2006 for a Bakersfield.com interview.
In Bakersfield, California and the surrounding area, Arredondo was celebrity-like due to his commercials, billboards, and philanthropy.
While Arredondo held a sparkling reputation in his community, there were issues with people surrounding him.
In 2006, a man was shot and killed at Arredondo’s Rosedale home. 28-year-old Manuel Morales Abarca visited the home to see a caretaker on Arredondo’ property. Abarca and the suspect, Valentine Rosendo Oliva, 35, got into an argument when Oliva allegedly shot Abarca. Arredondo was not home at the time.
In August 2014, an employee of Arredondo’s, Daniel Watkins, was shot to death in a triple homicide. Arredondo was interviewed regarding the slaying as he was one of the last people to see Watkins and because he knew and personally hired Watkins at his Family Motors Auto Group dealership.
Heavy.com reports there have been suspicions of Arredondo being involved with organized crime even though those surrounding Arredondo refute those claims.
So far, there is no connection between these incidents and Arredondo’s murder.
Arredondo is survived by his wife, Kim Kyung-ju, daughter Mariana, and son Samuel.
Samuel, who professionally goes by Samuel Kim, is a K-Pop singer who debuted as Punch in the duo 1Punch. 1Punch debuted with the ‘90s-inspired throwback song “Turn Me Back” in 2015 and dissolved soon after. In 2017, he appeared on Produce 101 Season 2 where he finished 18th. On August 2 of that year, he made his solo debut as Samuel with the EP Sixteen. Samuel has already generated a lot of buzz in his short career so far and has even won three awards: “Global Collaboration Award” (2017’s Seoul Music Awards for “Spotlight” with Silento), “Most Searched KR New Singer” (2017 Yahoo! Asian Buzz Awards), and the “New Hallyu Performance Award” (2018 Soribada Best K-Music Awards).
Samuel or his company have yet to comment on Arredondo’s passing. However, Samuel’s social media platforms have been set to private.
Suspects have not been named in the Arredondo murder investigation as of this writing.
We send our condolences to Samuel Kim and his family.
—-Olivia Murray
User Review
( votes)Related Articles

Lee Hae Ri Announces July Wedding
2022 is turning out to be the Year of the K-Celebrity Wedding as another singer announced her upcoming nuptials! On May 11, 2022, Davichi’s Lee Hae Ri shared a handwritten letter on Instagram announcing her upcoming wedding. Her agency, WAKEONE,... Read More
AleXa Wins Inaugural American Song Contest
Oklahoma-born K-Pop singer AleXa has a lot to celebrate as she was crowned the champion of the American Song Contest! Thank you so much to every single person working behind the scenes! The songwriters, my fellow contestants, my... Read More
Singer Yukika Announces Upcoming Marriage
In late April, the 29-year-old Japanese-born, Korea-based singer and actress posted a handwritten message announcing her upcoming nuptials. View this post on Instagram A post shared by 유키카 YUKIKA... Read More
U-KISS’ Hoon to Get Married This Month
Another K-Pop marriage is about to take place soon as U-KISS’ Hoon announced his upcoming nuptials May 29, 2022! Hoon made his marriage announcement via a handwritten letter. Hello. This is U-KISS’s Hoon. I’ve mustered the... Read More
Actress Kang Soo Yeon Passes Away
On May 7, 2022, Kang Soo Yeon, 55, passed away after being found unconscious in her home two days earlier. The actress, who is best known for her roles in 1987’s The Surrogate Womb, Come Come Come Upward (1989), Road to the Racetrack... Read More
‘Young Power’ MCND Sold Out all seats at the European concert tour!
– MCND EUROPE TOUR 2022’ successfully completed in 7 cities in 6 European countries – MCND to hold their first K-Pop European concert after the pandemic! – MCND held the first K-pop concert in Switzerland MCND... Read More
KLKTN & MIYAVI Release New Line of NFT Collectibles For Music Video “Hush Hush”
The NFT collection is created from within the music video showcasing hidden perks to explore the artist’s creative universe WATCH THE OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO FOR “HUSH HUSH” HERE LEARN MORE ABOUT MIYAVI NFT COLLECTION HERE... Read More
Kim Himchan Admits to Sexual Assault Charges
Trigger warning: Article discusses sexual assault/harassment* and suicide On April 12, 2022, former B.A.P member, Kim Himchan’s sexual assault appeals case was held at the Seoul Central District Court. During the hearing, Kim admitted to... Read More
BVNDIT Celebrate Third Anniversary, Announce May Comeback
BVNDITBUL: You can breathe a sigh of relief! BVNDIT, who are under MNH Entertainment—home to singer Chungha– debuted in 2019 with the song “Hocus Pocus” off the single album BVNDIT, Be Ambitious! Since debut, BVNDIT released a... Read More
Leave a Reply